Running For Reason
by Bydeane
Summary: She's the Keeper of the Runners. Or used to be. Amelia puzzled herself when she arrives in a Glade that isn't her own. A Glade full of boys. She's swiftly loosing her memories of Group B, which she doesn't necessarily mind. Whatever Glade Amelia is put in, she will find a way out of. But, there's one thing that still haunts her. Marnie.
1. A Final Goodbye

**_Story started: 22 August, 2017_**

* * *

 **The Maze Runner is owned by the amazing James Dashner, this is merely a retake on the plot**

* * *

 **'The trouble is not dying for a friend. But finding a friend worth dying for.'**  
 **\- Mark Twain**

* * *

 **232.1.5 | 10:03 A.M.**

 _Everything was perfect- everything. Until my last night alive._

"Yoo hoo," Marnie said, shaking me up "You're late for the running schnick. Ya'know, for the new stick. What's her name... Rachel, yeah. Rachel" She gave a nod of confirmation, quite proud of herself. She had never been so swell at names. "Yeah, I suppose I better get up, huh?" was my response. She rolled her eyes before slumping back down on her hammock, disappointed in me for not waking up earlier. When, in fact, it was her nubbin' fault, _she_ didn't bother to wake _me_ up. She knows far too well that I'm not capable of doing it myself!

I stayed in bed for another five minutes, in that weird stage between sleep and consciousness. I would've stayed there longer, in the comfort of my own sheets if Marnie didn't start jumping on me. "If you don't get up now, Lia, Harriet will come and snatch you up right out of your bed and drag you into the maze, and you're half naked!"  
All I could respond with was a sleepy "mhm" followed by a snide remark, "I bet you like that, huh, Marn?" She kicked me in the side, I pretended I didn't feel it, when it hurt like bloody Hell itself.

A couple of minutes later I opened my eyes, stood up (although quite wobbly) and made my way over to the inland's drawers. All the while, Marnie was still ranting to me. I Just heard muffled sounds, I still wasn't fully awake yet. "Marnie, I love you and all," My voice was croaky, so I just let my talking clear it. I saw her ears perk up out of the corner of my eyes, I giggled. I loved it when they did that ", but could you shut your nubbin' mouth hole?"  
"Just trying to help," she frowned like an angry child wanting something that they can't get, sitting with her legs crossed and arms folded on the hammock. I stuck my tongue out at her as I pulled out some skin-tight Jeans and a tank top.

"Amelia?"  
"Yes?"  
"Don't do anything stupid. I almost mucked myself when you got stuck in the maze the last time. Okay?"  
"You're lucky to have me," I retorted, smirking.  
"You didn't answer my question, promise me you won't leave me ever again?" She was dead serious. I wasn't.  
"I don't make promises I can't keep." We both grew silent  
"I hate you." Marnie murmured, loud enough so that I could hear.  
"Awe, thanks sweetie, I hate you too!" I blew her a sarcastic kiss, she caught it and chucked it into the bin in the corner of the room. I sniggered at how genuinely mad she was at me.

I pulled on my jeans, threw on my top and put my dirty blonde hair up into a high ponytail. "You look gorgeous!" Marnie forenamed, seemingly lightening up, I just laughed half-heartedly. "Like you never do," I snorted, "you can't just shower me in complements now, missy." She grimaced sarcastically, giving me the finger. I returned the polite gesture back before kissing her 'goodbye'.  
"I love you," She smiled as I grazed her lips, teasing her.  
"I hate to say it, right back at cha'." I whispered, grinning. She pulled me closer and wrapped her arms around me, our noses touching. We kissed. I don't know how long for, but it was quite a while, I loved every moment. She eventually pulled away and frowned at me, twiddling a loose piece of hair that fell in front of my ears  
"I'll miss you." She breathed. I just rolled my eyes and pushed her back, lightly, not too violently.  
"Look, I know I'm not usually gone on a Friday, calm your bloody mucker. We'll have time tonight to do whatever we please," I winked ", I'm gonna be back, alright? I'm tough, Captain of the Clickers, I don't know why you're getting so worried, I do this every day." I reassured her. Marnie never liked me running the Maze. She always presumes the worst will happen. Her arms crossed and her eyebrows cocked, somewhat judging me "I'm not worried, whoever said that ya' stick? I just don't like you galloping around, without a care in the world, in a really dangerous area." She loosened her arms when she saw the look I gave her. A 'what the damn hell?' Kinda look. Marnie shook her head, stood up and opened the door, gesturing for me to leave the Inland. "You always have a bad feeling about everything. Negative Nancy," I retorted ", maybe it's just depression?"  
"Lia, don't joke about that, it's serious! Anyway, you have somewhere to be. Bye now!" She made a long face and waved at me, obviously, she'd had enough of my sarcasm.  
"Wow, you're a bit eager to get rid of me aintcha?"  
"Now, where did you get that impression? Oh! Here, don't forget this."  
She handed me the wooden sculpture, an airplane I possessed ever since I came up to the Glade, two years prior. I kept it as a lucky charm. Everyone always questioned it. They had nothing on them when they came up. But why would I know?  
"Thanks, lamb."  
I smiled at her, pecked her on the nose as one last kiss and ran for the Clickers Shack.

All the other Clickers had seemed to have gone already, probably with their leader, Harriet's, instructions. If not, those pansycakes were dead meat. I noticed that Rachel was already there, seated on a little bench outside the clickers shack. I was just jogging on, saving my energy for the maze and talking to the little bugger that was Rachel. There was probably going to be a lot more answering than running. I waved at Sonya as I went by. Funny girl, she was, I liked her all the same. When I got ultimately got there, I saw Rachel opening her mouth, ready to give me a lecture, I just ignored her and jogged straight inside the shack, pulling out things we needed.

"Finally," Rachel said, loud enough so that I could hear, "you'd think that the Captain clickers would run much faster than that, and get up a lot quicker, too." I popped my head out of the shack and kicked her in her arse. Stepping out, I threw my hand in her face and shook my head. "You don't understand, I usually get up really early. Today was supposed to my day off, I'd spend it with Marnie, but thanks to you stick, I have to teach you how to simply run through a maze!" I said sternly. She looked down at the ground and shuffled her feet, whispering  
'sorry' over and over. No one could resist laughing at her plod face if they saw it! I'd never had someone feel bad for me before. I had it pretty much perfect in the Glade. Everyone knew me, everyone liked me. I had an amazing girlfriend, I had the best job, I couldn't help but chuckle "Hey, why are you laughing?" Rachel gave me a snide look.  
"You would too if you saw your schnick face!"My laughs died down after a couple of seconds, a little giggle here and there. Her face was still frozen in a confused expression.  
"You sounded just like a dying pig!" She began to giggle too when I clapped her round the head, chortling painfully. After a few minutes of pointing at each other, laughing, Rachel got fed up and half-laughed, half-said "we should probably get running, I need to learn to get my way around, having fun doesn't stop time." Nodding, I stood, propping the Shacks door open with a slab of wood. I let it steady itself and waltzed inside.  
"Okay. Come on, let's get our equipment, warp up and head off." And we did.

About an hour later, we were quite deep into the maze. Surprisingly, Rachel didn't ask many questions, just followed me and copied the things I did. This went on for about an hour or two before we stopped in a corner of section five, and sat to eat our sandwiches that Sally had made earlier. "How do you know how to get back? There's so many walls 'n' shit." Rachel asked, intrigued. I shrugged, smirking.  
"I don't. I never do. It's all a lie. I always have to find my way back by running in all these different directions. You'll never learn. It changes every night," that _was_ true, "I still don't know where to go. We could die any minute." that was true, as well.  
"No, I don't buy it. Well, yeah, we could die. But when we survived that night in the Maze, you knew exactly where you were going! Don't pull this bull-crap with me!"  
"For gods sake! There's seriously no one I can joke around with anymore! Everyone knows I'm always joking. And all the Newbies latch on like leaches!" Rachel lowered her legs, knitting her eyebrows. "Anyway, have you seen me chopping vines down for the past two hours?" Rachel nodded, her face still stuffed with food. "Yeah," she said, gulping down the last spot of bread, "I thought you did that for fun. Before you say anything, I realized like twenty minutes ago, you're cutting them to find your way back!" I shook my head, still ready to pick on her.  
"Just for fun? Are you nubbin' me? I do a lot of things 'just for fun!' But cutting vines? That's not one of 'em. Sounds like something Harriet would do, though."  
We finished up, throwing our remaining bits and bobs back in our backpacks, then getting up and running a couple more miles, mocking one another as we went.

"I'm wiped out," Rachel stated, "How are you still going?" I shrugged and opened my mouth to reply.  
"well I-"  
"actually, don't answer that" I put my palm to my forehead and slowed down a little bit.  
"Hey, how 'bout I give you something to run towards?" Rachel raised her eyebrows, clearly interested. I got where she was coming from, Clicking is quite boring if you have no goal.  
"Go on then, start talking!" She nudged me, obviously awakened in what I had to offer. I mean, who wouldn't be, I'm _so_ intriguing.  
Just kidding.  
I do that a lot.  
Joke.  
"I know we're not supposed to go outta this section but I'm sure we'll get away with it just this time." I beckoned Rachel backwards as I began to run in the opposite direction.  
"Wait," Rachel shouted, sprinting after me, "where are we going?"  
"Section eight!"

We ran on, turning and twisting at each corner, I did it naturally, while Rachel stumbled after me. I had to give her credit, though. She was better than me when I started. We then finally came to a halt, after three more hours. I was sweating, but there was no heavy breathing, no patchiness and no dirt, praise the lord.  
"I'm confused about how you don't look like a rotten cow after running... well- it must've been over 1,500 miles!" Rachel gawked, panting. Her face was a bright vermilion colour.  
"1,500 miles. have you been asleep for the last couple of hours? And thanks, Newbie. I guess you get used to it," I tossed Rachel a quick smile before grabbing her hand and wearisomely dragging her over to the Maze end. "This way!"I sung as we turned a corner, "one more bend and we're there. Then we can go back and start again in the morning, Newbie." I let go of Rachel's wrist when I had to cut off a vine from the walls, on purposely having it plonk down on Rachel's head before it fell to the ground.  
"Ow! You did that intentionally, I know you did. And... stop calling me Newbie, that guy in the coma's the new Newbie," Rachel looked behind us and frowned, "It's a long way back, huh?"  
"It's worth it, for what you're about to see!"

As we turned the last corner, she froze. Standing in-front of... well... nought.

"What the heck? When- Where does- It's nothing... nothing's there..."  
We were facing, as Rachel said, nothing. The stone wall just ended. It lead into the sky, pretty much. Again, I shrugged. as if it were nothing. It practically was nothing. But when you've seen it so many times, it gets old. Clickers have searched it through and through, but it's just an empty void. Possibly something the creators missed out, forgot to implement.  
"Thought you might want to see it. Don't tell Marnie or Harriet that we were here, okay? They'll kick the hoo harr out 'o' me," Rachel nodded in amazement, not taking her gaze off the nothingness before us. "Earth to Rachel. You in there?"  
Rachel shook her head and turned back to me, nodding. "I thought this was just a cool little thing I could show you, I didn't know you'd get this mesmerized."  
She grinned  
"This is amazing..." She lightly pushed Amelia, "This could mean something? It could be our way out!"  
"It's the only thing us Clickers have found in the past year, kinda sad, actually. And, we've checked this abyss far and wide. It ain't nothing special." I sat at the edge of the Maze, Rachel doing the same seconds after. Just staring into the open cesspool of hollowing blankness below them.  
"Have you ever thought," Rachel started, "about where the Grievers come from?" Of course I did, but I wasn't going to purposely spend a night in the Maze to find out. I already had with the stick sitting beside me, but we didn't find anything. So, I bumped my shoulders up, shuffling around in my place, kicking my dangling legs.  
"Yeah, and if you're thinking they come from here, I'm not about to check. Plus, why does it matter where they come from?"  
"Well, I mean- where ever there's a way in, there's a way out."  
"I don't think it works like that," I tightened my ponytail, "if they do come from here, where? There's no place for them to come _from_. And, again, if they do come from here, I don't think we would be able to get in the place they come from. There might not even be a way out. The Grievers are probably just charged there or some shit."  
"But if we can get down there, and in the day, when they aren't turned on, we could break their charges. And if we camp down there, the creators or someone must come to fix them!"  
"You're insane.  
"But I could be right!" She could be. At that point, all hope was lost in escaping the Maze.  
"Only a stick would have a mindset like that."

I huffed and crossed my legs, moving away from the edge of the world, it seemed.  
"Sure, maybe only a stick would think like that," I sniggered at Rachel trying to use the Glades slang so swiftly, "but what if that stick was right?" Rachel added, nudging me with her elbow.  
"Then that stick would be a very lucky stick indeed."  
"We all know how lucky we are, though. Especially after surviving a night in the Maze. What I'm trying to say here is never trust your eyes, ever. Not in the Glade, anyway." Rachel was wise, but she didn't sound it at the time. Logic wasn't applied to the Maze.  
"So now you're telling me my eyes are lying to me? Rachel- there's nothing there you schnick" I stood up and shook my head, gaping at her stupidity. Which, in reality, was intelligent stupidity.

"I don't know, have you tried throwing something at it?" She asked, picking up a pebble by the side of the Maze.  
"No, idiot."  
"Then why give up? You have run the same way, same time, every day. What's the point anymore? If you're not going to try anything new then why do it?" Rachel pushed on, thinking she was getting somewhere.  
"Listen, Captain," I joked, making a weak salute, "if there was something new to do, we'd try it. I swear. This plod hole has been here for ages, and nothing is in it!" I was genuinely astonished at how dumb I thought Rachel was being.  
"Alright, alright- have you tried sending someone down there with a rope of some sort?"  
I nodded impatiently.  
"You name it, we've tried it. And if you're wondering what happened, pitiable Tilly fell to her death. Or so we think. She kinda just disappeared. Although, we heard her screaming."  
Rachel lowered her head in respect.  
"Have you tried-"  
I cut her off  
"Yes"  
She rolled her eyes "What about-"  
"Don't you get it? We've tried everything!" I was getting so annoyed, my voice raised, clearly pissed off at Rachel's positiveness.  
"I have my doubts about that, Amy!" I looked at her sharply, wanting to push her off the cliff gravely. I hated being called Amy. I don't know why. Maybe it was too girlie? Maybe it meant something deeper to me that just a nickname. Who knew.  
"Ask Angela, ask Sonya, ask Harriet, ask frickin' Marnie for all I care! I'm just saying, there's nothin' here, like you said when we first got here," I laughed in frustration, "and don't call me Amy, that's a sissy's name. And I ain't no sissy!"  
Rachel rolled her eyes and got up, intentionally jolting into my shoulder as she headed towards her rucksack. I merely wistfully stared off into the end- not knowing what to say or when to say it. Rachel waited patiently for me to stop staring at nothing. Hereafter, Rachel got bored and started tapping her foot, humming; trying to take my attention off whatever it was on.  
"Amelia!" Rachel snapped her fingers, putting her left foot up against one of many walls in the maze. "It's getting late, we're gonna have to set off, back to the Glade. We don't want to be stuck in here together... again." I nodded, knowing she was right. She was almost always right. I Fleetly took my eyes of the annihilation of the Maze laying in front of me.  
"You're right, let's g-"

" **Amelia!** " Rachel screamed, grabbing me by my green top and wrenching me towards the wall the was leaning on. A shot of panic flood through me when she screamed. I could only imagine what was behind me. Until I heard the whirrs and the clicks. It was a Griever, a big one at that, clawing its way through the Maze corridor, leg by leg, click by whirr. I only had time to turn around and try to fight. There was nothing I could do otherwise. Sprinting away wan't an option, it'd be faster. But Rachel still had time.  
" **Run!** " I screeched, shooing Rachel away.  
" **Without you?!** " Rachel yelled back, kicking the Griever now too, snapping one of it's thinner legs.  
" **Yes, you plod! I'll be fine!** "  
" **Are you kidding me? If I didn't leave you the last time, I'm not gonna do it again!** "  
I let out a scream as the Griever pierced me in the arm. I flipped out the largest knife I had in my back-pocket, and rushed into the Griever, stabbing it over and over, dodging its electric pincers.  
"You do piss me off sometimes," I said, surprisingly calm pending on a life or death situation. I knew I wasn't going to survive this, so why get the anxiety pumping? It would just lead to a worse death. No, I was going out with a bang. "Just go, okay? Tell Marnie and Angela what happened, call a gathering, I'll be fine," lie, "we need one witness and that's going to be you. Besides, you're not stung!" I winked at Rachel, smiling. How in the world was I smiling at that standpoint? I still don't know.  
" **You're stung?!** " Rachel cried, still fighting off the Griever.  
"Positive," I pointed to mu back where a huge incision was made, "just go, please. Tell Marnie I love her if I don't make it," pause, "which I will!"  
God, how many lied could I tell this poor girl?  
Rachel tried to fight back the tears in her eyes, nodding as she slipped away from the Grievers grip and followed the chopped vines that lined the floor, leaving her friend to die, probably. She tried not to listen as she heard me crying by virtue of the agony. Tears swelled, as Rachel had just given up everything she stood for; she left someone behind.

I kept fighting on, no matter how badly injured I was, no matter how much blood sweat and tears I had shed, I kept going. If I was going to die, I would have to die proudly. The Griever impaled me several times. I groaned, trying to continue the battle. But I couldn't. At the last puncture, I was down. Blood came dripping out of my mouth, I gurgled, coughing up teeth and other disturbing substances. My head hit the stone floor of the maze with a loud 'thump'. I was emotionless, the beast had drained every little drop of responsiveness out of my body. And just like that, I was gone.  
I had been defeated, for the very first time.

* * *

 _"No!" An unknown man cried, holding his head in his hands, "this wasn't meant to happen. She was supposed to make it until the end of the trials!"  
He called for a woman named Dr. Crawford. She scooted over on her tiptoes, pursing her lips. "Noah, don't worry," She said calmly, leaning over the supposedly dead girl, "She'll be okay. I bet she isn't completely bloodless yet!"  
Noah shook his head and glared at the life gone girl that lied before him.  
"What are you suggesting?" Noah turned to Dr. Crawford and scowled.  
"I'm suggesting we do some simple little stitching, polishing and bam!" she made an exploding gesture with her hands, "back to normal. All we have to do then is send her back up!" She smiled a menacing smile, eyeing the 17-year-old girl.  
"Fiona, we can't just send her back up like nothing happened! Earhart just died and as far as we know, Rachel is still alive and has told the other female Gladers-"  
"Yes," A younger girl called in the background, cutting him off. She was sitting behind a line of computers with another line of people on her row, "It's true, Rachel made it out alive. Tom shut down the Grievers when Earhart died so they didn't kill anyone else. May I mention the Grievers coming out earlier in the day was not any of our fault, it was a glitch in the system that couldn't've been done my anyone in here. Far too complicated. I'm sure everything will be back to normal in no time!" Noah nodded in thanks, as did Fiona.  
"Thank you, Millie, thank Tom, too!" Dr. Crawford said in a pitchy voice.  
Noah grunted, fed up with everything going on, as Fiona continued on like Millie hadn't interrupted.  
"We could just simply reset the day, Noah. Make everyone forget the past 24 hours!"  
Noah rubbed the tip of his brow, sighing.  
"I suppose," he stood up straight, "what about the girl?"  
Fiona rolled her eyes, frustrated at the fact that he wasn't getting it.  
"Like I said, call the medics, they'll sort it. She'll be put to sleep about twenty minutes before we send her back up. Tell Chancellor Paige on the way. I'm sure she knows already, but let's not skip her."  
"Bu-"  
"And, we'll reset her memory a day, too. Happy?" She asked, tapping her foot impatiently.  
"If we reset the girls a day, yes I'm happy. Especially since the women are a little ahead of the boys. A month or so. All in good work, since it applies to the trials, but we could shorten them a little. Okay, we've got to get this thing moving. Hasty, too. I'll call the Medics."  
Dr. Crawford nodded, clapping her hands.  
"Noah. WICKED can do anything- WICKED is good,"  
the man shook his head, opening the door to exit one of the sections of WICKED's lab, " WICKED thanks you for your help, Mr. Michael."  
"Fiona, I am WICKED"  
"We know. Sometimes it just isn't obvious enough."_

* * *

I couldn't hear anything but a harsh ringing. Bright lights shone over me, I was too weak to open my eyes fully, hardly breathing. Blurry people in blue masks surrounded me, whispering something in each others ears, I could only make out a few words they were saying. Things like "Incision," and, "respiratory."  
I managed to open my eyes a little bit wider. Blood was on the table, it stained the cold metal a dark red, almost maroon colour. Scalpels severely carving into my skin, though, I wasn't feeling any pain.

I opened my eyes wider, gaining more strength the deeper the wounds got.  
I was able turn my head to one side, seeing my hand frozen still.  
Only slightly twitching when a sharp object cruised into my spongy skin.

I couldn't seem to up-heave my head after I rolled it over my shoulder. I don't know how long I lied there, watching my hand twitch every now and again.  
I felt nothing, I swore I was dead. Positive I was dead.  
My brain seemed to work perfectly fine. Everything else, however, was gradually failing me.  
To the left of me -the only place I could look- I saw an open door.  
People rushed in and out of it a horrendous speed. My vision kept clearing, then went back to being bleary.  
Above the door there was a sign with flashing red and white lights that surrounded it. It read something about a 'Group B Medical Room'. I could care less about what it had on it, I was just mesmerized by the pretty little flashing lights.  
On and off, on and off.  
I was slowly drifting in to deep slumber. I was just about to go when-

"Quick, we don't want to lose her, this whole thing will be a stoppage if we can't get her patched up!"  
Everything came back to me. There was a wailing alarm going off in the background. Voices buzzed in my ears, sounds of clicking and snipping fenced me.  
I could taste Iron in my mouth, factual that it was blood.  
Each sense came back; one at a time.  
I knew it was only a matter of seconds before I would be able to feel the incisions being made, feel the blood being poured.  
I lifted my heavy head and gasped, tears streaming down my face.  
"Oh shi- S-she's awake! Call Lena, get her in this very second! Tell her we need general anesthesia and Lidocaine!"  
A man called, peering over me.  
"It's going to be okay, you will be safe!" He clutched my hand, squeezing it tightly, "you will be with your friends in no time!"  
I felt it, right there and then. The pain jolted back into me.  
Like a car had just rammed into a lamppost. The lamppost being my body.  
I groaned lightly when I began to feel it in my arms.  
That small groan swiftly turned into a loud wail as I felt it in the rest of my body.  
I was hardly able to hear my own scream, the volume in the room had risen with me.  
A couple thousand knives slice into me all at once.  
I had never experienced anything as painful as that in anything that I had lived though so far.  
The hand tighten in mine. Someone was whispering gentle nothingness in one of my ears.

I stopped screaming, I inhaled and exhaled violently, kicking my legs, blood splattering the walls.  
They had to get women and men off the computers to hold me down. I had become used to the pain after a couple of minutes.  
It still hurt like hell being munched on by God himself, but I gained control of myself and stopped kicking, stopped making noises and breathed heavily, letting the blood seep out of me. Watching it drip, drip, dripping down.  
Everything went shockingly silent, only a few murmurs to be heard. A couple  
"Is she dead?" and, "she'll be okay" flew around the lab.  
I couldn't find the strength to open my mouth, let alone talk.  
It felt like a rock had just hit the bottom of my stomach. I felt weirdly nervous. I lay back, staring at the faces that surrounded me. Some of the surgeons were still taking things out of my body and replacing them, sewing them back up.  
Most of them started at me, anxious expressions on their faces.  
Some stroked my hair, some rubbed my arms.  
The majority just towered over me, watching me to see if I did anything else. Each and every one of them had clipboards.  
I just smirked. Despite the pain, I smirked.  
I knew these people, whoever they were, I knew they just wanted a reaction. So, I gave them one. If I was going to die, I wasn't going to die like a pansycake. They then all jotted down what I just did. It was so in-sync, it was almost comical. Almost.

I tried hard to pass out, thinking about all the blood I was losing, or gaining. I couldn't tell. I tried to remember the Glade and what'd happened. Thinking about Rachel, if she'd made it out alright. Thinking about Marnie, how much I'll miss her. Thinking about Harriet, how much I will yearn for her bossiness.

"Please," I croaked, struggling to get my words out. If everything wasn't silent enough already (apart from the deafening beeping)  
it became even more so. Pens at the ready. Some people from other rooms rushed in. Surely, I wasn't that loud. "Is Rachel- I-is she alive?"  
I wheezed, wanting to cough and throw-up so badly.

Before anyone could answer, a woman in a full white cloak bust in, no mask on. WICKED was stitched across her lab-coat. WICKED, where had I seen that before?  
She quickly pulled on some blue surgeon gloves, grabbed two needles, full of some strange purple-e substance.  
"Where is she?" When no one replied, she raised her voice, making everyone jump out of their skin.  
"Where is she? The girl... **Where is she?** " A couple people pointed towards me, a few called out "Here!" and waved at her.  
"Move," the middle-aged brunette woman ordered, "let me see her face!"  
Everyone cleared out the way, creating an opening between me and her.  
I swore I had seen her before. Somewhere, I'd seen her.  
I gave out a weak wave, smiling sarcastically. It was one of the only things I could do.  
Bleeding to death wasn't very jolly.  
The woman sighed at me, shaking her head disapprovingly.  
"You were meant to live, Amy I don't k-"  
"Don't call me Amy!" I coughed, only just spluttering the words out.  
She rolled her eyes and crouched down to me like I was a small child. I could see straight into her eyes now. I forced myself to not break contact.  
"Amy, we're sending you back up I-"  
I cut her off once again.  
"What did I just say?!"  
My vocal cords started being friendly again. I raised my voice as high as it could go, ignoring the voice-cracks..  
"Alright, shut up or else we'll let you bleed to death!" The woman huffed.  
"No you won't."  
"Do you still feel pain?"  
"Is Rachel okay?" I groaned, airing her questions.  
"Do you still feel pain?" She tried again, clearly getting frustrated now.  
"Yes," I answered, feeling even more agony when I answered that specific question. She wrote that down, nodding. "Now answer my question!" I started thrashing around, "did Rachel make it back okay?!"  
The woman, Lena, I assumed, stood up from her crouching position and brushed off the drops of blood that she had gained from crouching near me. She picked up the first needle, full of light purple liquid and smiled, pitifully. She jabbed it into me without warning. I moaned. The ringing stopped, the muttering stopped, the beeping stopped, everything stopped. I felt no pain, either.  
Incredible.  
Lena lent over me and whispered right into my other ear.  
"Remember- WICKED is good."  
All the while, slowly inserting the last needle into my neck.

And then everything really did stop _._

* * *

 **ARG!**

 **I hoped you like this first chapter :) I will be responding to your reviews, some of them will be able to be seen in the chapters continuing this one. Just as a little side note, I will be uploading this to Wattpad (Username: Bydeane) but that will come out a little later, about about a day or two. So, if you want it extra early, then stick around here. I (hopefully) will be doing a poal on for who you want Amelia to end up with eventually. I'm not too sure myself, so I'm going to let the audience decide.**

 **Rightio, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the chapters to come :)**


	2. Boxes of Dreams

**'Expectation is the route of all heartache'**  
 **\- William Shakespeare**

 **231.12.1 | 6:34 P.M.**

I was lying down on a hard-crossed metal surface, flat on my back. I felt I was moving, I didn't know which direction but I could feel the force pressuring my stomach. I remembered a Maze, a few faces and names but nothing much else. The air around me was cold, prickling my skin. I was aching all over. My back, especially. It seemed like I was in an old, rusty lift, struggling to move. I could hear the sounds of chain against chain, grinding against each other. I ran my hands over my body to see if it was still me, still the same body.

I pushed myself onto my feet, wobbling and falling every now and again due to the jolting of the cube. I wasn't panicking, strikingly. Mainly because the situation felt familiar, like I knew it too well. Yellow lights shot by as the metal box proceeded. I wasn't even breathing heavily, but I could hear it openly, the box had a strange echo. I looked around, trying to see if there was a way out. Moaning, I held my head in my hands.

Thinking that kicking and punching the walls was a good idea, I did it. Stopping after a few minutes as my knees were bleeding and my palms were bruised. I began to roll around, trying to hold back the tears streaming in my eyes. I tripped over a few crates as I accessed or descended, accidentally cracking one of them open. Something rolled everywhere, some kind of fruit. I got rammed into the back of the cube as it came to a halt for several seconds before brushing itself off and continuing. I tried to trace back my memory, to think about where I came from and who my family were. Faces spun through my head, an innocent looking brunette girl, a gorgeous one with dreads, A scrawny looking black-haired girl. They were my family. Names started sprinting back to mind – The innocent one, Marnie. The girl with dreads, Harriet. And the athlete, Rachel.

 _Family._

I started to picture a Maze, only me and a few others were allowed in it. I was remembering my way around the said Maze. How to get to the end, how to get to each of the sections. I was on the floor, my eyes closed _,_ trying to block out everything around me.

I remembered love _,_ laughter and kindness, the sisterhood we shared was unreal. The Inlands, where everyone slept, where I slept. The boy, the one in a coma. He was 'the last one'. I could hear a whining alarm far off in the distance, nowhere close but still audible. I felt around for something to jot my notes on, a pen or a piece of paper. I needed something to record my thoughts because I knew I'd forget them when I reached the top. Presumably to the Glade. I needed to remember anything and everything I could about WICKED and what I had done and heard. In the back pocket of my jeans I found a piece of scrunched up paper and a pencil. I unraveled it, hoping to find something interesting. It was section eight of the maze, the section I had been in when something happened- I just couldn't pin down what it was...

I turned it on to the other side to find a clear slate. I grabbed the pencil and drew the first thing that came to mind. Marnie.

I sketched her for a while, focusing on every little detail, every little perfect flaw. Her thin lips, Her wide blue eyes, her braided hair. When I was finished, I wrote some things around her, some names, last words. Even some things about the Grievers. Just in case I forgot. After writing for a while, I started to feel sick. I resisted the urge to gag, throw-up maybe. I heard the alarm getting closer, I knew my time in the cage was almost up. Weirdly Disappointed, I stood up and made my way over to the other end of the cube, holding on to the walls; ready to (hopefully) see my friends again. The box slowed, I heard shouts from above. Deeper than I'd expected. Maybe it was just the box that made them sound that way.

The cube came to a sharp stop, throwing me forwards against the wall I was clinging on to. I was prepared for the light to strike me, to blind me. I was ready to see familiar faces peering down at me, welcoming me. Instead I got something _very_ different _._

The lid opened slowly, I decided the best Idea was to just stand there and look up so my eyes could adjust to it quicker. The first slit of light wasn't as bright as I expected it to be. But, after it'd all opened, there was nothing I could see but a harsh white.

"Bloody Hell..." A voice murmured from above, their accent similar to mine. I heard a clang as someone jumped down into the cage with me. My vision was clearing up. And when I saw who was in front of me, I was speechless. Another boy? How long had I been gone for.

"What is it, Newt?" another one called, his voice deeper than blondies.  
"It-it's a girl." As soon as he said the last word, boys crowded round the edge of the box, gasping, jeering and catcalling, trying to catch a glimpse of me.

"Stay back!" The deeper voice called again. Must be their leader, I thought. Like Harriet. Blondie walked around me, eyeing me up and down. I was just as shocked as he was. Shouts continued from above. I heard things like:  
"How old is she?" And-  
"Is she hot?" A couple-  
"I got dibs!" flew around, too. The boy still circled around me until he stopped at my face, frowning.  
"Can you remember your name, Greenie?" I paused, not knowing what to say. I knew my name. Amelia, obviously.  
"Amelia," I said, my voice sounding deeper than I expected it to be _, "_ Call me Lee."

He nodded, taking a step back from me. The boy glanced behind, my drawing was still on one of the supply crates, waiting to be picked up. I casually walked behind me and lifted it, sliding it into my back pocket. Not wanting to seem suspicious. "What was that?" He asked, curious. I smirked, all the while trying to think of something.

"Just a doodle. I got bored coming up here..." He nodded. My voice started going all quaky when I talked again. I was less confident as it dawned on me that I didn't know where I was. Well, not where I was but who I was with, who I'm with makes up where I am.  
"You seem to have made a mess behind you, shank." I gave an uneasy smile, not wanting to seem scared of them. I _truly_ was terrified.  
"I- uhh... I kinda broke it." He chuckled  
"I figured."

Shouts continued from the Glade, I was getting fed up by that point. Could they not be quiet for two minutes? Two guys then peeked over the top to take a glance at me. One, a dark-skinned boy, the one with the deep voice. The other, pasty with a grumpy face.  
"Gally, Alby, meet Amelia!" I backed up into the corner, creating amusement for myself as their eyes followed me.  
"Lee" I corrected him. The darker boy nodded once and tried to smile at me. _Tried_.

"Well, my name is Alby and you will be in touch to my orders here. That's Newt," He pointed at the blond boy beside me, "and this is Gally, the Keeper of the Builders."  
Gally was an ugly thing, his nose almost bigger than the rest of his face. He didn't try to smile at me, just nodded his head. I weakly waved, wanting to break down into tears. This wasn't like me at all.

Newt climbed out of the cage and towered over me like the others did. Gladers, I presumed. "Need some help Greenie?" Gally shouted.  
He threw down a rope with a knot at the end, jerking his head towards it. I pretended I didn't see it and pulled myself up. Placing my two hands on the tip of the box and sliding my foot in the different bars, climbing up. When I escaped, I heard a few gasps and whistles, people realizing that I wasn't a joke. I spun around and around, scouting the Glade. Exactly the same. I guessed the Maze was equivalent, too. But, although it looked alike, it felt completely offbeat. I was without a piece of me, my friends.

Boys crowded around me, blocking my view of the Glade. The only thing I could see over the top of them was an odd, wonky looking shack. One thing I did know: the girls were more prominent at building. When they started getting closer, invading my space, I began to push through them, intentionally nudging them out of the way, brutally. Some boys got out of my trail, knowing I wasn't messing around. Others deliberately stood in front of me _,_ wanting to see what I did. I gave no reaction and continued walking, they moved out of the way eventually; when I got too close. Apart from one kid.

I was heading towards their Inlands, wanting to see inside, to test if it felt familiar somehow, maybe like home? I was expecting him to scooch away like the others did. Instead he just stood still, waiting for me to walk straight into him. He wasn't in line with me so we only bumped shoulders. I didn't really care who got in my way, I simply wanted to snoot around, not start any relationships... just yet.

As I strolled, I could see him bite his lip in the corner of my vision, saying something to his friend, all the while eyeing me up. When I reached few paces ahead of him, he decided to grab me by the wrist and pull me back, turning me around as he did so. I pushed away, giving him a disgusted look. Stumbling backwards, he shook his head, smirking. He pulled me in once again and whispered  
"I got dibs on you, babe..." I tilted my head, grimacing.  
"Flattered."

I pushed him away once more, harder, this time. Hoping he would take the hint. I continued on. If he did one thing more, I knew what I was going to do, and I didn't care if it got me in trouble. I'd reached a breaking point.

When I pulled away for the second time, I set back on my track to their Inlands, running. At first, he didn't do anything, just let me go. Relived, I started walking slower, saving my energy for some arguing and running later in the day. I knew I wanted to start a riot. Boys started following me, I felt their eyes scanning my body; they stayed their distance, though. I glanced back, chuckling when I found they instantly took their eyes off me once I turned my head. Whilst looking in their direction, I saw Alby talking to Newt, worried looks on their faces.  
I slowed my pace, trying to lipread their conversation. Alby caught me staring at them, though. But instead of looking away like a pansycake, we just glared at each other, proving that we are stronger than one another.

Newt snapped his fingers in Alby's face, taking his gaze off me. They talked a bit more and I walked a bit more, looking back every now and again. Once I reached their Inlands, I was about to push the door open when someone placed their hand on my arm, discontinuing my stretch towards the knob. I felt the sudden urge to attack, wanting to rip layers of their skin off inch by inch. Until I heard the soft, British voice.  
"Hey, bloody hell, don't panic, shank. Me and Alby want to talk to you 'bout something. Follow me, shank."  
He must've seen the anger flash across my face when he made contact with me.  
I obliged, gulping, trying hard to push down my wrath and bleakness.

"S-so... Is tha- is that your Inlands?" I stuttered, nodding back at the large shack we were walking away from. Newt frowned and swayed his head  
"What the shuck are you talking about? Inlands? That's the Homestead!" He raised his eyebrows and looked at Ably as we gaining on him.  
"So... where you sleep?" I didn't wait for a response, I knew I was right. "And those words... Shank and Shuck, they're your... Glade slang words?"  
I asked, my voice sounding pitchy. Newt glared at me questionably, scratching behind his ear "How- how do ya know that? How do ya even know what the shuckin' glade is? And why aren't you over in the corner of the Glade cryin' your bloody eyes out, yearning for mummy?" He pried.  
I shrugged once again, not wanting to tell him what I knew, my knowledge about Clickers, Grievers, Stackers, Plodders and everything else that can be found in the Maze. Besides, he probably already knew.  
"I dunno. It's just not that scary."

We continued, Newt pouting every now and again, probably thinking about my statement.  
To be completely honest, I was scared to death, I just didn't show it. I knew my way around just fine. If someone told me to go to the Mapping Shack, I could easily do it in twenty seconds. But, it was just the fact that I was surrounded by people I didn't know, _boys_ I didn't know. I was nothing without my family. I felt tempted to tell someone, anyone, about what I prized. I knew all the Gladers rules, though, they would probably lock me up and kill me once I gave away all the information I held. We reached Alby, I shook his hand firmly, giving him a nod. Then, we were swiftly on to conversing.

"You're our first girl, shank." Alby proclaimed, eyeing me up.  
"No shit..." I muttered under my breath. Apparently, Newt could hear, and let out a sweet chuckle.  
"So, you're probably going to get hit on by slint-heads that don't know any better. We're here to protect you." He wiggled his finger between him and Newt.  
"Protect," I spluttered, "I don't need protecting. What am I? Some godforsaken ornament that mustn't be touched?" Newt shrugged, scrunching his nose up and frowning  
"Sounds about right." I rolled my eyes, my arms crossed. The clothes I was wearing were so much cleaner than the other Gladers, my hair too. I was wearing a pale yellow- almost white- button up shirt, the sleeves rolled up above my elbow. My jeans were tight on me, but not too tight. I had enough room to tuck my overhung shirt into my pants. Still, bits hung out but I couldn't care less for what I looked like.

"So, what are you gonna so with me?" I asked, knowing the answer, here comes the lecture. Harriet was much like Alby.  
"Well, we'll have to put you in the jail for a night. In the morning, you'll be sent around, tryin' for jobs around the Glade, that will go on for a couple da-"  
I cut him off, earning look of frustration on his face.

"I know what I want to do, to be."  
Alby shook his head, finding what I'd said comical.  
"That's impossible. You haven't been here for an hour yet, and- why are you so calm about this? You're the most inhuman shank I've ever met." Alby glanced over to Newt who shrugged  
"Told me it wasn't scary." Newt proclaimed, cocking his head towards me. Alby gave a long face and turned back towards my smug smile.  
"Right 'en, what do ya wanna do?" I looked him dead in the eye and grinned.  
"I want to be a Clicker."

They both looked at each other, then back at me, bursting out in to bundles of laughter. I rolled by eyes, waiting for them to stop laughing.  
"What's so funny, sticks? Is it because I'm a girl?" They both shook their heads, clutching their sides.

" _Sticks?"_ Newt asked, still chocking. Alby patted Newt back and ordered him to stand straight and look somewhat presentable.  
"Love, what the shuck are Clickers? That job ain't even a job!" Newt sniffed. I shrugged, realizing that they might call it something else.  
"Oh, you know, one of the people that run in the Maze, that jot down the maps in the Mapping Shack and get back before the Doors close, before the Grievers get them?" I knew I'd said too much, both Newt and Alby stared at me like I'd said that I was best buds with the Devil. Alby turned me around and pushed me forward, setting off to the jail.  
"You'll be sent for questioning in the morning, don't speak another word until then!" Alby glared at me sternly, guiding me forward. Newt bit his lip, his eyes unsteadily glancing from me to Alby, nervously. I let my shoulders sink and pulled a funny face, showing I didn't really give two shits, because I didn't.

We got close to the Inlands, close to where the boys were gathered. I sarcastically saluted, sticking my tongue out.

"Newt, pass me the rope!" Alby instructed, holding out his hands, still pushing my back.  
"Oh, come on! I slightly move my hand and it's seen as a danger? Seriously, you'd think a group of boys would be less cowardly. It's a bit disappointing really."  
Neither of them responded, just continued with what they were doing. I rolled my eyes, hating it when people ignored me. Newt fiddled around for a rope, finally finding it and passing it to Alby. He began to tie it around my arms when a boy, the same boy that pulled me in earlier, shouted-  
"Kinky, I can handle her from here!"

And that was it- I had enough. With everyone there.

I kicked Ably in the shin, escaping from his grip. Too easy. Running over to the boy, I pulled him in, biting my lip, ready to do what I'd waited to do for a long time.  
I punched him. Full force, right in the nose. He fell back, gripping his busted face, making dirty nail dint's around it.  
His hands were covered in blood. Smirking, I lent in beside him, whispering in his ear...  
"Don't mess with me, boy!" He nodded, shaking, shuffling on his butt to get away from me, laughing, I slowly paced away. Crowds began to gather around him, yelling and making stupid animal noises. I knew it was only a matter of time until Alby took control of the situation and hoisted me over to the prison. I didn't want him to take me, so I took myself, denying the lesson on rules of The Glade. I'd heard that too many times in the past.  
I knew I'd probably get it when he locked me up, but at least I wouldn't have to listen then. I sprinted over to the corner of the Glade, where the small cell was, ducking in under the stick-made structure.

I sat myself down on the little stool in the corner, pulling out my one sheet of paper, continuing with my accurate drawing of Marnie. I didn't realize I hadn't been locked in until a while later-when I heard heavy footsteps outside from where I was sketching. I was expecting it to be Alby, quickly shoving my pencil and paper under my stool. I sat, slumped over, my clothes already dirty. I was quite surprised when the boy who greeted me was neither Alby or Newt- instead, some muscly Asian kid; his mannerism comparable to mine, standing like me with his legs shoulder width apart, sleeves rolled up. He crouched down and peeked in, smirking.  
"Oh..." I muttered, straightening back up, brushing myself off.

"Just thought I'd come see the bad-ass Greenbean." He said, panting. I sniggered, loosening up again. He seemed cooler than the rest, calmer.  
"Has my stay here miraculously extended then?" I questioned, grinning at the fact that I had been called bad-ass.  
"You bet, slint-head," He winked at me, pulling out the keys to lock me in. "You gotta stay in there for a day, now," I shrugged, puffing up my cheeks. "You don't seem too bothered, it's almost like you've shuckin' been here before."  
I frowned, wondering if I had ever been in this kind of situation in my home Glade, I must've done.  
"Maybe..." I rubbed my eyes, yawning.  
"I brought you some food, thought you might not be able to make it through the twenty-four hours without it." I kicked my legs, hauling myself up and scratching my bottom lip. I loved food more than I loved myself.  
"Arg- you're my favorite, earned a soft spot with me. Gotta be careful no one takes that away from you!" I reached for the food, smiling in thanks.  
"I saw what you did to Lucas. Me and the other Runners had come back moments before you hit the klunk outta him. That kid is jacked!" I gave out a weak 'mhm' whilst I dug into the sandwich, not really listening.  
"Hey," the boy started, "what's that?" He pointed under the stool I was sitting on.  
"Mm!" I gulped, "that is invisible and you never saw it, okay?"  
He chuckled, shaking his head.  
"Pretty sure I saw it, gotta check that invisibility spell you cast."  
 _Soo stubborn_.  
Rolling my eyes, I pulled it out from under my seat and squinted, holding it up in-front of me. "It's a drawing I did when I was coming up in the box-" He jerked his head.  
"No, no. Not that, the other side. Ya' shank!" He pointed to the Maze on the other side of the paper. I let my eyes sink back, putting down my half-eaten sandwich.  
" _Th_ _at_ is section eight of the Maze, although I wrote some things around it, so it's not as clear as it was..." I stopped when I saw the boys jaw drop, I'd said too much again.  
I had to remember that these people were not to be trusted with the information I was spurting out. The boy was completely taken aback, he sat down, fully, crossing his legs.  
"Greenie, how do you know about that? I mean, I shouldn't be surprised, since, Alby told me that you wanted to be a Runner. But- I just- I thought he was joking, ya know?"  
I huffed, not wanting to say anything I would regret, I'd done too much of that already.  
"Talking of Alby- how's he feeling? Does he hate me enough yet?" The boy glared at me, squinting his eyes  
"Don't change the subject." I paused, rubbing my forehead. How do I know I can trust this kid? "Who are you?" I asked, standing up and walking over to the bars where he sat.  
"You think I'm going to tell you that? Answer my questions first! Who are _you?_ " He almost yelled, knitting his eyebrows.  
I bit my lip and dipped my head. These kids were clearly just as confused as I was.  
"I hardly understand myself... I know I was in another Maze before this." I rubbed my head, frustrated, "I also know I was the Captain of the people that run through the Maze... whatever you call them-"  
"Keeper of the Runners?"  
"Yeah- I promise I have no other knowledge from before the Maze, that's all behind me. I just happen to have a grasp on what everything is in the Glade."  
I didn't want to say anything else so I flung my arms around, letting him know I'd finished. "Greenie. I can tell you're not lying, I have a knack for that," well, of course I wasn't lying, or else I wouldn't know about everything _in_ the Glade and _outside_ of it. "But... I don't know. There's another Maze? That's not right. We're gonna have to have a shucking gathering." I suspected that was their kind of meeting.  
"Rightio. I'll - uh - tell you guys as much as I can, no secrets between any of us. First step to brotherhood, right?"  
He sighed, "right... a _new_ brotherhood. With a strange, hottie thrown into the mix."  
"Thanks."  
"I was talking about me."  
I liked this kid. He was funny.  
"So, what's your name?" I asked.  
"It's Minho. I know yours. Amelia. Everyone's going on about you. Didn't know what the big deal was till I saw ya."

There was a silence between us for a couple of minutes, we just stared at each other. Maybe he wasn't what I first thought him out to be. I broke the eye-contact first, I couldn't deal with it anymore.  
"So, I'm guessing you're the Captain- I mean, Keeper of the Runners?" I shut-down the muted words, leaning in further. It was just a guess, a conversation starter. Besides, he was covered in beads of sweat and smelt god awful. Minho also brought up that he came back from the Maze?  
"Yeah," Minho looked puzzled, fumbling his eyebrows. That changed a lot. He could get me back into the Maze, I just had to get on his good side.  
"Right, try me. I promise I won't fail you. Meet me outside the place where you map the Maze tomorrow when I get out. You'll be back by then, right?"  
Minho nodded, climbing onto his knees,  
"It'll be late," I mentioned, "but I'm always up until the early hours of the morning, anyway."  
"Okay shank, I trust you, bear in mind not many people do at this point. Alby and Newt are klunking their pants, they don't know what to do with you!"  
I took a step back from the bars, shrugging. Secretly happy that he so much as _trusted_ me. I shook my head to release my loose hair that had gotten tangled in my eyelashes. Smiling at him, I crossed my arms, looking around for something to do.

"Do you have any paper I can doodle on?" I asked, wanting to keep myself occupied when sitting in the literal hell hole. Minho bit his lip and bowed his head, searching his pockets, pulling out some scrunched pieces of paper. "Here, don't tell Alby you have these. He'd go shucking crazy, he's really pissed that you so much as touched him. I think he's just embarrassed he got beaten by a girl!" I took the paper and put it under the stool along with my picture of Marnie.

"He shouldn't be. And if he is, he should get used to it," I laughed through my nose, returning to sit on my chair. "You can go now, you know. I have no need for you any more, peasant." I shooed him away, jokingly.  
"I'm still your favorite, right?" he sarcastically frowned, a belly laugh rising. I scrunched up my face, stroking my intangible beard,  
"I'll think about it..." I laughed. He stood up, preparing to leave  
"Well, sweet dreams, Amelia." He chuckled, bending down to get a glance at my face once more. I nodded, smiling childishly.  
"If I even get to sleep in this hell hole. This abyss of teenage hormones."  
"Oh, you'll never escape the abyss of teenage hormones. Shank, I gotta go. Alby's giving me the stink-eye. I'll talk to you tomorrow."  
"Bye."

I took the remaining paper and pushed them to the side whilst I focused on getting Marnie's face perfect- as it was. I didn't know it but my eyes were watering, I only realized when my vision started going blurry and my paper grew wet patches. I wasn't one to cry normally. I'd never been in that situation before, or anything close to that where I'd started crying of sadness. Or, even worry. I never worried. But, hell, I missed them, I wanted them here with me. Every one of them. I brushed my tears out of the way, trying to forget whatever was behind me. I was here now, I was going to make it through. Help _this_ group get out of the Maze. They seemed genuine, although it might be another one of WICKED's variables.

I had no clue what time it was when I accepted it would be easier to carry on with my sketch when I woke up, since, I was getting tired. I forced myself to sleep, squeezing my eyes shut. Singing myself lullabies that Marnie used to sing to me, I was playing with my hair like she did, too. I never respected her doing that, never thanked her for being with me always. I would do anything for her to fulfill that hole now. Hug her, kiss her and appreciate her. I felt the sudden urge to vomit, homesickness, I guessed. Climbing onto my hands and knees, I coughed at an almost gag, trying so hard to force back anything wanting to show. My tears, the vomit, the suffering in general. I wanted these boys to know I was tough. If not, tougher than them. I think my actions that day proved my intentions well. I settled myself, lying down on my back, my arms on my stomach, tracing my abdomen. I tried reversing my mind back to the last day in the Maze, what had happened?  
I pictured an opening, a Griever. Rachel. Everything was unclear. When I imaged the scene, it was like my eyes were watering or my hands were shielding me from the truth. I know something important had happened, just not what. I could still feel the immense pain. The only event I could remember was the day before and after, being with Marnie, loving every bit of her like I should be doing now. Bleeding horrifically, dying or dead. I figured WICKED must've made a mistake and sent me back up to another maze. Or they just got rid of my old one completely, replacing it with all boys... maybe the girls as a group failed. But we were _so_ close.

It took a while for me to finally stop stressing and close my eyes, breathing steadily. Knowing that this was my new life, I just had to suck it up and deal with it. For a short while I drifted in and out of sleep. Which, is understandable since I was lying on a firm, cobble ground. I twisted and turned, uneasy as I didn't have a watch on me like I used to do. I couldn't stop thinking about WICKED and its goal, what it all meant. I could only remember some of the vital parts of what went down in the 'Group B Medical Room', whatever that was. I eventually put a doorstop on my thoughts and decided I would think it all out in the morning, as I would still be in here in the plod hole. And finally, I hit the hay.

" _Oh, come on! Let me do your hair, it looks so funky like that!" Marnie reached out for me as I ran across the Glade, trying to escape her grip.  
"Thanks, Marn, I love you too!" I panted, running for the woods. "Marnie," I whined, "stop it! You're bloody fast!" She was gaining on me now. To be fair, I had run a whole day in the Maze, she hadn't.  
"I will catch you!" she laughed, skipping mockingly. She's so playful, almost immature. When I slightly turned my head, seeing her hands almost touching my shoulders, I abruptly got a push of energy, boosting me forwards, winding my way in and out of the trees, trying to lose her. And then, I did._

 _I sat down, getting my breath back, picking the grass and rubbing it in my hair so that when Marnie saw it, she'd get even more mad. I sighed, knowing she'd find me eventually, I just needed to calm down before I attacked or got attacked. I lay back on the grass, pulling funny faces at myself, waiting to hear footsteps._

 _I closed my eyes, placing my hands behind my head and yawning. I hummed the song Marnie always sung to me at night, stroking my hair. It gradually turned into me quietly singing it to myself._

" _Take a look at the clock only so long to go, cutting smooth young skin, saying we don't know. Snatch a map, grab a bottle but leave the 'what if?' You'll know it in the morning after your kicks._

 _Mmm, Mmm_

 _All you will for a rocking good run is a bunch of people who don't give a damn. There's a yes in your head gotta find where it's at. You'll lose it in the morning but ignore that._

 _Mmm, Mmm_

 _And we're all bruised, they are who we are, and the bright blue mess is just consciousness. Black bruises will never be a sin, don't regret it when we're old with wrinkled up skin, regret it when we're old with wrinkled up skin. Regret it when we're old with wrinkled up... skin-"_

 _I felt a slight pressure on my lips, startling me. Figuring it'd be Marnie, I loosened up and lay my head on her lap. She twiddled my hair, continuing the song, kneeling next to me._

" _Mmm, Mmm_

 _My mutti said to always wear a coat but it's warm and it's heavy and we're running from hope. Don't forget, she'll be right when it's 7pm, so shiver but shiver with a friend_

 _We're all bruised, they are who we are, and the bright blue mess is just consciousness. Black bruises will never be a sin, don't regret it when we're old with wrinkled up skin. We're all bruised, they are who we are, and the bright blue mess is just consciousness. Black bruises will never be a sin, don't regret it when we're old with wrinkled up skin, regret it when we're old with wrinkled up skin. Regret it when we're old with wrinkled up..."_

 _I cut her off, kissing her passionately, leaving her to do whatever she wanted with my hair, I didn't care. As long as I had her beside me, singing to me._

I Heaved, suddenly appearing in another scenario. Again, with Marnie.

" _C'mon," I beckoned Marnie through the Inlands door , "we can be the first one on the wall" Marnie grinned, pulling her shoes on  
"You're so creative!" She ran towards me, bumping into my chest. We giggled, shushing one another, not wanting to wake up any of the other Gladers. I grabbed her hand and led her out of the door. We walked close to each other. It was late and cold, we needed to share our body heat. Besides the fact, I had a massive crush on her. We walked for a bit longer, our mouths sealed shut. We eventually reached the Builders Shack, shivering, unsure of how this plan was going to unfold. I pulled out a key that Beth had lent me earlier that day and quietly unlocked the door. I could see our breath steaming and twirling together, I couldn't wait to get inside; I didn't care if it was just one degree warmer. My foot nudged open the wooden door. It scraped the wood, creaking the floorboards. I held up a finger to my mouth and faced Marnie, knowing some of the other Gladers would still be up and about. She nodded, trying not to laugh, copying me by putting her finger on her mouth. She followed me inside and we started to search for the correct tool box. Beth had given me some specific instructions to where they were, but in true Amelia fashion, I'd forgotten what she was on about._

" _Marnie, you search that side, I'll search this side." I muttered, pointing at the areas I'd designated us to. She breathed an 'okay', giving me a thumbs up and rummaged through the tools on the shelves above her. Poor thing, she was only short. That's why I assigned her to the high ridges, to watch her struggle. I held back a snigger that was rising inside of me as I searched through some of the boxes. I kept going, not finding anything useful. I was just beginning to search the last box when I heard a sharp crash and a muffled squeal. I twirled around finding Marnie clutching her hands, hopping from one foot to another. A shelf had fallen upon her, cutting her hand. Boxes lay across the floor, as did saws and other building equipment. We both stood still for a few seconds, listening out to catch any yells or footsteps from anybody who may have heard. We were safe. As soon as we realized we were in the clear, I rushed over to Marnie's side, inspecting her wound, rubbing her arm._

" _What happened?" I whispered. She pulled close against me and put her hand in mine, showing me the cut. It slit from the bottom left of her hand to the tip of her little finger.  
"I'm not too sure," she whispered back, biting her lip to take her focus off the pain, "I think when the shelf fell, something sharp caught me." I gaped at the cut, I never really minded the sight of blood but it was so deep and red and icky.  
"Grazed you? Marnie, it looks like a ten foot drop in there!" And I wasn't kidding. She nodded, trying not to panic.  
"I know!" she cheeped, digging her nails into her wrist further.  
"Do you want to abort the mission and go back to bed? Or we could wake up one of the interns. I'm sure Myah will be happy to help you out."  
She paused for a minute, glaring at something behind me.  
"No," she said, returning her gaze to me, "if I have you, I'll be fine. And that's a lie, Myah is very grumpy when she wakes up."  
I smiled, tilting my head, feeling butterflies in my stomach. She was extremely close to me, I could feel her chest rising upon mine. Neither of us were uncomfortable with the situation, but she broke the silence eventually, tearing a section of her jumper off and wrapping it around her hand._

 _"Well," she exhaled, pulling away from me, "well, I found the correct tools. She pointed at the floor where the utensils fell, on a half-broken box that read 'Carving Equipment'. We smirked at each other, scooping the tools back from where it had come from.  
"Should we tidy this up?" Marnie asked, perking her head up_

 _"Nah, Beth and the other Stackers won't mind. Besides, she did let us do this. And knowing me, she should've expected something like this to happen." Beth was the Captain of the stackers, and my best-friend. She was responsible for all the equipment needed to build things like the Shacks and the Inlands. Beth was a higher rank than all the others, so she could boss them around and stuff. Sometimes she got too cocky, though. Like Myah, who was captain of the interns. They took care of people when they went through the 'changing'. Pretty much the doctors of the Glade._

 _We had asked Harriet earlier if we could carve our names into the wall next to the Inlands, she said no but I couldn't resist. That's why me and Marnie were being so secretive. Beth was just helping us out._

" _Got everything?" She asked softly, titling her head. I nodded and hoisted up the box. We clumped out of the Shack and locked up, praying that no one was standing in the way of where we wanted to go. Luckily, it seemed like everyone who was up previously had gone to bed. We wallowed back over to the Inlands, the both of us feeling smug yet greatly exhausted. We stayed close together again, our shoulders rubbing together whenever we took a step forward. Marnie's good hand helped me carry the box whilst her injured one skimmed the long grass lightly. My free hand was tucked warm inside my pocket.  
She winced every now and again though, gritting her teeth. She was a strong girl, I admired her for that. It was a large, deep cut and she wasn't making a big deal about it. She was incredible._

 _We were muted all the way to the Inlands, my shoulders were aching by the time we reached our destination from carrying the box with only one hand. I could've carried it with two but I would've looked weak, I didn't want Marnie to think of me that way.  
"Okay, we're here. Be quiet, we don't want to wake Harriet and the others up." She murmured._

 _"Sorry, didn't realize I was being so boisterous," I retorted, making her screw her face up and swear at me. I rummaged through the chiseling tools, pulling out some useful things.  
"Here," I handed her a chisel, pulling out a second one for me. I stood up and walked to the wall the Inlands she was leaning on, pressing one of my arms to the wall, the other ready to calve.  
"Come on!" I frowned at Marnie, standing there looking down at her chisel.  
"You go first," she glanced up at me, "I don't want to get caught."  
I rolled my eyes and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards my side. She knitted her eyebrows and frowned at me, opening her mouth to say something, then revoking.  
I stood behind her and placed her hands in the correct position  
"You won't get caught, I'm here with you." I whispered close to her ears. She nodded, tucking her hair back  
"I know." Marnie mumbled, letting my guide her hands into the correct place. I took a step back, walking to her side.  
"Go on," I urged, "just press it down"  
"what should I write?"  
"Oh, gee, I dunno. Maybe the Bible?" I teased, nudging her, "your name, nub."  
She nose-laughed, starting to calve her name, going slow, being reticent.  
I stood watching her shaking hands for roughly twenty minutes before she took a step back to admire her work.  
"I think I've finished!" she smiled, proud of herself, wrapping her arms around her. "Your turn!" She turned to look at me and smiled, putting her hand in mine.  
I took it and walked towards her, rolling my eyes.  
"What took you so long? I think I'm getting grey hairs." I mocked. She punched me in the arm and pointed me to her name. It was beautiful. Her name was perfectly written in curls, multiple lines swerving from each letter. The 'M' was much larger than the other letters, fancier too. I had to take a step back to cherish the intricacy._

 _"D'you like it?" Marnie asked, swinging back and forth on her tiptoes, hands clasped behind her back.  
"like it?" I scoffed, __"Marnie, this is stunning. How did you learn to do this?"_

 _"I learnt from watching you draw!" she giggled at my hung-open-mouth and poked me in the shoulder to make sure I was listening.  
"But- I draw, Marnie. Have you seen my handwriting? It's shit..."  
"I know, you just brought out the artistic side of me,"  
I grinned, glad I could be of some help.  
She dumped her chisel in the tub and patted me on the back  
"Go ahead, show me what you've got." I raised my eyebrows and shook my head, crossing my arms  
"I aint got nothing compared to that!" I flung my arms up limply, throwing and catching my chisel.  
"Just go, you don't have to make it look nice." I nodded and resumed the position I created twenty minutes ago. I thrust the chisel into the wall and dragged it down, creating the 'A'._

 _What seemed like ten hours later, I finished. It wasn't half as good as Marnie's. It was very... streaky. Marnie stood next to me and lent her head on my shoulder.  
"That looks horrific." She mentioned softly.  
"Just like you." I whispered into her forehead. She chuckled, stroking my arm.  
"You know we have to take the tools back to the Shack, right?"  
I let a quiet groan pass my lips as I hung my head. "Don't be so lazy," she insisted, "Beth did serve us well and we should pay her back by being good citizens."  
"Yeah, like we haven't vandalized anything tonight." I retorted, chuckling.  
"Right." She exhaled, turning to face me, reaching for my hand. I was fairly taken aback by her sudden approach, but I accepted it. I let her squeeze my hand and lean in close to me, placing her head on my chest. I sighed, shivering at the chill.  
"I'm tired," I moaned, "and cold, can we go to sleep?" She pulled her head back and looked at me, frowning.  
"Aren't I warming you up?" She buzzed, lowering her eyebrows.  
"Well, yeah. Of course, You're like my own personal heater." I joked, but I don't think she got the fact that it was sarcasm. Marnie pulled me closer, into a tight embrace. I wondered what had taken over her to make her do this. I wasn't complaining.  
"I've warmed you up," she murmured, "I bet I could wake you up, too"  
"Oh really? How?" I asked, grinning.  
"You know how."_

 _And suddenly, her lips were on mine. And like she said, it did wake me up. I hesitated for a moment, unsure what was going on and why one of my best-friends was kissing me. I loosened up, though and started to kiss her back, not realizing how long I had waited for this.  
I knew she liked me, but I just didn't act on it._

 _She ran her hands through my hair, shaking, smiling. I wrapped my arms around her, feeling completely submerged in her warmth._

 _And I realized, there was only me, her and hope in the entire world._

My eyes flickered open. I noticed my legs were bruised, I must've embedded my knees in the stone wall whilst I was dreaming... or remembering? Those were certainly things that happened in the past. It made me long for my home Glade even more. I wiped my tears away, most of them dry. sitting up, I reached for my papers Minho had given me earlier. I glared out from the inside of the bars, the papers on my lap. It was dark, not a boy to be heard. I must've been sleeping long enough for everyone to go to bed, in their 'Homestead'. I whipped out my pencil from by back pocket and wrote down everything that had happened in both dreams while they were still vivid. I never had dreams, so they had to be important, if I didn't write them down, I would've forgotten them. Once I had used up three pieces of paper, writing down everything I could remember, I curled up into a ball and sung myself back in to deep slumber, singing the song Marnie used to sing to me.

 _Eight Hours Earlier_

 _"I'm sorry, ma'am, I didn't know what I was doing! I should've asked! Please forgive me!" A younger woman was on her knees, WICKED soldiers gathered around her and another four people, large guns pointed at them._

 _ _"Oh Millie," a middle-aged blonde woman smiled pitifully at the younger girl, "you do know you can't apologize for this, there's nothing WICKED can do about this terrible, terrible mistake."  
Her voice was soft yet full of warning.__

 _"Ava, please. If you're going to punish one of us, punish me. They don't deserve any of this! It was my fault! My fault!"  
Millie begged, tears welling, her eyes fulgurating between the WICKED staff. One of them was the one that had injected Amelia. Lena. The woman that'd interrogated her when she was being operated on. The other three, she didn't recognize. One of them was a tall black woman, her hair tied back tight in a knot, she wore a badge reading  
"Fiona Crawford." Standing next to her was a man that resembled a rat, he was labelled  
"A.D Janson." And finally, another man, slouched over, his head in his hands. The name-tag reading:  
"Noah Michael." They were all wearing white lab coats, standing in a line behind the blonde woman, her stamp recited "Ava Paige."_

 _Ms. Paige took a step forward, tilting her head.  
"Shoot him." she said tranquilly, pointing at the young man, a smile curving her lips. The female guard that stood behind Tom didn't hesitate to fire the bullet, straight into his back. Instead of screaming in agony, crying for peace, he fell flat on his face. Electric beams shot through him, his body vibrating at every shock.  
"You were good to us. In-fact, if we didn't have you, we wouldn't have the Launchers. Tom is hurting himself, we aren't doing anything at all, for, he created the flawless thing." She straightened her posture, the boy still shaking about.  
"You monster!" Another captive spat.  
"Fareeha, WICKED is good. Do you not believe in us?" Ms. Paige lowered her voice, mockingly frowning.  
"I never did, never will. I was poor, Ava. I had no other choice. I pray that WICKED will die with us!" Her male friend patted her on the back, giving her the hint to calm down, yet also letting her know he consented._

 _"And Daniel," Ms. Paige added, turning to the man, "none of this is your fault. You're one of our best surgeons. Why?"_

 _"I'm making a point," his voice was raspy and dry, "WICKED is a terrible organisation, I want you to know that we're a family. If one of us dies, the whole pack does." Ms. Paige nodded, turning around to face her older employees, pursing her lips.  
"We have discussed this, you know what we're going to do. If all goes to plan, this will be an extra test for Earhart."  
She clasped her hands in-front of her, almost whispering.  
Noah spoke up, knitting his brows.  
"Ava, what if nothing 'goes to plan'. It seems like it's looking that way. Aris is trying to keep it together, as is Teresa, although she is still down here, so it's easier to control. Thomas is extremely happy she'll be with him in the Maze, but is disheartened that one of his best-friends won't remember him, or him her. And Rachel won't leave the Inlands since she died. This could all go terribly wrong. This screw up has had a big impact so far." Ms. Paige raised her eyebrows, stepping closer into the group.  
"Noah, WICKED can do anything. You know that. It's Simple, really. Since Thomas and Rachel can't remember anything, in Group B they'll keep their memories of Amelia dying. Just another Glader gone. And Group A is getting us incredible results from a girl showing up."  
Her voice was shrill, piercing, like a knife that kept getting sharper by the minute. The three ladies and Janson smiled at each other, shaking hands.  
"We'll be leaving now," Fiona said, beckoning Noah out the room. "Good luck, do what you have to." She scooted out of the room, Mr. Michael slowly following behind her, rubbing his head, one had behind his back. Ava, Janson and Lena turned back to the four 'victims', still kneeling, looking disgusted. Tom had now gotten up, still looking quite dazed, too scared to say a word.  
"One meal a day, the four of you locked up in the same cell, five feet apart, chained to the wall until we have any use for you. In around five months or less, you'll be a test."  
Ms. Paige flickered her eyes between each of them, waiting for one of them to speak up. Silence. "Alright. Guards, take them." The guards yanked them up, dragging their limp bodies along the floor, one of the former WICKED employees muttering under their breath.  
"That should do it. It'll show our other workers how to behave as well. We're being kind only giving them that much punishment, they deserve more for messing up our system," Lena forenamed, giving Ava a nod of approval, "first they wake a Griever in the day, which we were going to let them off for, but then they send Amelia to the wrong Maze? Ridiculous. Something this awful must've been planned. They deserve to be with the cranks."  
Janson patted her on the back, faking a smile  
"I'm sure it will all work itself out." He reassured her, fixing his tie. "I shall be leaving now. Good day, I have some papers to work on." He stated in his nasally voice. And with that, he was gone.  
"I would say I have to go but I don't have anything to work on." Lena complained, slouching over.  
"Oh- well I certainly do, Ms. Oxton." Ava spoke up, roaringly.  
"And what's that?" Lena asked keenly._

 _"Amelia's memory. Reset it. Slowly"_

 _And with the woman's clicking heels and the doors unintentional slam, the Chancellor sank to the ground and allowed her tears to flow._

 **Wassup homsicles!**

 **Hope you're enjoying it so far. I am. I do have to revise for a bunch of tests as it's coming up to the end of school so the next chapter might take a little bit longer. Don't worry, though. It won't be for too long. Tbh, I've thought out the story line a lot but just not this bit so I'm very sorry if I'm not at my best. Oh, I used Dodie Clark's 'Party Tattoos' for Marnie's song, I changed the lyrics a little bit but here's the link to the actual song:**

 **\- watch?v=0JtISvgf2Aw &t=94sPlease go watch it, it's amazing and Dodie is my smol' bean. Again, I will be uploading this to wattpad so if you'd rather read it on there, the link is in my previous , thank you for reading and of course, have a lovely day :)**


	3. Racing Fading Memories

**'Sometimes it feels better to not talk. At all. About anything. To anyone.** '  
 **\- Unknown.**

* * *

 **231.12.2 | 6:05 A.M.**

Amelia arose from the trance of sleep, rubbing her head and looking around, muddled at what she'd just witnessed very distantly. She couldn't remember much of the last dream, in fact, she couldn't remember anything of the first two, either. Not feeling like drawing or writing, she was inevitably stumped. Humming to herself was the only thing she could do that wasn't smashing her head against the stone. There were other pieces of paper that could be filled up with imagination but she just didn't feel like starting something new. Even so, she picked up the papers and flicked through them, looking at her sketches and notes about her old Glade. Some things on there, she couldn't remember writing. She frowned, figuring she had messed up the notes somewhere along the line. She was still glad she'd written them down, though. Thinking they might be important, she took out her pen and swiftly wrote down anything else she could remember off the top of her head, not wanting to forget her home Glade, as it was the one she had been in for as long as she could track her memory back to. And she was bored. She kept flicking through, finding names she didn't remember. Myah, Beth, Sally. Who were these girls? Maybe she had fumbled over the names, not really concentrating. She kept running over the girls in her head. Their names left no trace. She tapped over to the other pages, scanning girls' names to see if there were any others she didn't recognize. Nope. She identified every other one. Just in case, she wrote down what they looked like and what their job was in her Glade. Once the deed was done, she got back to rummaging through the few pages she held. Near the end of the fourteen papers, she found three full of writing. She skimmed them, squinting her eyes. Her mind blurred, when had she written these? Not in the box, she thought, the only thing she did then was the names and the big picture of Marnie. There was a story about her and Marnie running through the woods, the other about her and Marnie's first kiss. Her face scrunched up, trying to think about where this had come from. Maybe she had written it when she was drifting in and out of sleep.  
God Knew.

* * *

She laid against the back wall, shaking her head and giggling to herself. These stories weren't even real, why did she write them down? She buried her thoughts down, throwing the pages of 'stories' to one side and standing up, waiting for someone to pass her. She listened to her own stomach grumble to her for an eternity, waiting. Having no clue what time it was, she felt uneasy. She could tell it was morning, just not if it was early or late. She knew that Alby would take her soon to show her around. Well, she hoped. Yet, he never came… in the ten minutes she could be bothered to wait.

* * *

She stood up and stretched, like she did every day, thinking about nothing but her body and strength. Once she had untied all the knots in her sore joints, she got on to jogging on the spot with high-knees, breathing steadily, preparing for a day of nothingness. More people were getting up now, Amelia could hear their groggy complaints and elephant feet stomping around, the sound of bare feet against wood and stone, shouts from at the other end of the Glade. Although she was hungry, she concluded that she wanted to show these boys that she is stronger than them. If that meant resisting her hunger, then so be it. She wrenched her head side to side, letting drops of sweat fly from her forehead. Usually, when doing press-ups, she would get Marnie to sit on her back. The only thing that she had was a half-broken stool. So, she used that. It kept falling off at first, ending up in a leg from the wooden structure to be torn apart from its body. Finally, she got it to stay in place and did what she always did with Marnie, talk to it. Being cocky to herself, this time. Not Marnie.  
"Hey, stool. How are ya?"  
 _-no response-_  
"Nice to hear. Oh me? I'm doing swell. I love being locked in this burning pit of hell, there's so much to do!"  
 _-no response-_  
"I feel like I really connect with you, stool. You're the only one who understands me."  
 _-no response-_  
"Say, why don't we knock some boys out tomorrow? You can be my trusty weapon."  
 _-no response-_  
"Awe thanks, nub, you're by best friend"  
Amelia's ears perked up when she heard sniggers outside, a grin finding its way across her mouth, urging her to continue.  
"I love you"  
and this time, there was a response  
"I love you, too." A random boy said in a mockingly high voice from outside the bars. Amelia was unable to see who it was from her position. She kept pushing on, holding back her laughs. "Stool, identify yourself?" Amelia asked, hopefully. The giggles from the Glade continued.  
"Your dashing buddy" the 'stool' quickly replied, she then figured it'd be Minho replying to her absurd questions, she went along with it.  
"Oh really? Makes sense, I'm only friends with beautiful people." She retorted, all the while doing push-ups.  
"Like you." Minho replied, still doing that ridiculous accent. I chuckled, blushing only slightly.  
"I know. That's why I hate that guy. What's his name? Minho? He's one ugly, slugged up boy."  
The giggling from outside stopped, followed by a stomping of feet. Minho popped his head out from the side of the bars, frowning, making Amelia give in to her giggles. "Hey, that's not funny! I'm very sensitive about my appearance, I try to look my best, always!"  
"Well, you clearly don't try hard enough" She sniggered, stopping herself from going overboard on her exercise. Minho took a step back, Amelia now able to see his full profile. Lowering his eyebrows, he puffed and stormed away. "Wait, Minho!" Amelia sarcastically wailed "I'm so lonely!", which was true. She slumped over, frowning. Waiting for another Glader to brace her with their presence. And, wanting to see how many others she could scare off. Sitting in a cesspool of her own thoughts was quite depressing, so she got back to working out, not caring that she was being excessive. Jogging around the enclosed area, she started to wonder about the random events that were written down on her parchment papers, they were most certainly in her handwriting. Since she wrote everything that she could remember down, she wondered if it was a dream. Probably _just_ a dream.

* * *

She pushed it aside, maintaining concentration on her physical appearance, preparing for Running. As if it was an addiction, she needed to reconnect with the Maze to gain back her sanity. If she ever had it. Her muscles started burning, so she took a break, resting her legs and thoughts. Humming to herself, she closed her eyes, deciding it would be best to fall asleep for a little while, she had nothing else to do.  
Drifting, drifting-

* * *

"BOO!" Minho yelled, popping out from the side of the prison. Amelia just yawned, opening only one eye. Not even a flinch. "Seriously?" Minho moaned "I waited like ten minutes for you to just look at me? You didn't even scream…"  
"Oh, hey Minho," Amelia drowsed, teasing him ", you're back"  
"never left, had to sit through you exercising" He rolled his eyes, frowning.  
"Poor you. Watching a stunning girl like me get all sweaty and hot. Must be tedious." She chuckled, starting a smirk to stretch across his face.  
"Good point" he huffed, scrunching up his nose.  
"So I am stunning?" She asked, harassing him, blowing him a bitter kiss. He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck "Almost as stunning as me. Almost." He raised his eyebrows, chuckling.  
"Oh Minho, don't flirt"  
"It's my nature, can't help it."  
"Good thing I'm gay then" She kicked out her legs in front of her, waiting for the homophobic comment to appear.  
"Gay?" He asked, frowning "How do you know?" Amelia, being quite taken aback by his straightforwardness, reached for the drawing of Marnie to the right of her and handed it to Minho. "That's Marnie. My girlfriend," She put, tilting her head ", this is the drawing I thought you were asking about, but no, you wanted to see section eight of the maze. Like you don't know it already." He didn't respond, just looked open-mouthed at the drawing.  
"You drew this?" He lowered his eyebrows, finding it hard to believe.  
"Well, yeah. I got bored-"  
"you got bored?" He scoffed, distributing the sketch back to her. "That's no 'I just got bored and doodled' kinda drawing. If everyone in this shucking Glade drew, it wouldn't be half as good as this masterpiece… combined." Amelia shrugged, folding it back up into her pocket and returning to sit in the corner again. "I don't like compliments" Amelia pouted, speaking the truth. She thought they were a waste of speech.  
"Well," Minho sighed, straightening up ", aren't you the most talented, beautiful girl in the world"  
"Minho, stop"  
"your pretty eyes twinkle like the starts."  
"When I get out I will batter you"  
"so, so fit"  
"another reason I could beat your ass"  
"… alright. I'll stop now. Please don't kill me", he whimpered sarcastically  
"Already have with my dazzling beauty" She laughed, completely forgetting the conversation they had the previous day.  
"So, that was your girlfriend?" He asked, sitting down and folding his arms. Of course, he headed back to the gay branch.  
"She still is," She cracked, raising her eyebrows ", and until I or her dies, we will always be." She joked, sounding melodramatic. Although, there was a slight bit of seriousness in it.  
"Whoa, calm down there, shank. Bit committed?"  
"Sure, I dunno. I just love her, so much. I'm not there to protect her, I'm here. I don't even know if she's alive, just arg!" Amelia flushed, she'd only been like this in front of Marnie, never another Glader. Minho gave a goofy smile "Well, guess the other slintheads won't be very happy with you being gay and all. Literally heard nothing but 'I'll get her first' all night"  
"perverts"  
"yeah," he raised, brushing himself off "I better be going. I'm already five minutes late to run. If I don't get my butt in the maze soon, Alby won't only be heated at one person." He stroked back his hair, smirking. "Don't worry, I'm always late. Five minutes is nothing" she sighed, limply chucking the leg of the stool at him.  
"You're shucking violent," Minho stated, tapping the pits roof ", see ya' in the gathering, half seven, Greenie." She saluted as he walked off, smiling to herself.

* * *

It must've been early when she'd talked to Minho, since, two hours later, not even half of the Gladers were up. She was glad he didn't ask about anything from her home Glade, he lived in the moment. Like her. But at that moment she was finding it hard to forget. She drooped over in the corner, trying her hardest to throw her old memories down the drain and let the fact that her new life was with the boys sink in. She was never one to give up, no matter what situation was thrown at her. And she sure as hell wasn't going to give up then. She bit her nails, not nervously, but because they were getting long and she didn't approve of it. She glamorously spat them after she'd ripped them from her bedding. She sat there for another twenty minutes, bored as hell, picking at the grass that peeked from the stone slabs. She wanted to scream of ennui, banging her head against the wall. She didn't feel like drawing, or writing. She didn't want to do anything but the nothing she was doing was draining her everything. Hearing footsteps outside, she rushed to the window. Not caring who it was.

* * *

"Oh god, please save me from this torture!" Amelia clasped the bars, whining. The steps continued, stopping just outside were she was standing. She took a step back, sighing, wiping her forehead from the dirt. The boy crouched down, he was a chubby, small kid. He looked around twelve to thirteen. "Food?" He asked, passing Amelia a soup looking substance. She frowned, he was talking as if they were old friends. "Thanks," She obliged, taking the bowl full of green liquid ", wow, the Gladers _do_ hate me." She joked, nodding at the moldy looking melted slug brains. He snorted, sitting down and crossing his legs. "It's not as bad as it looks, Frypan's a good cook," the boy scanned the pit, a cheerful smile conjured itself across his face "Names' Chuck. I was the Greenie 'til you came up. People still call me the Green Bean, though. They say it doesn't count because you're a girl." He pulled a long face and exhaled. "We're all humans, aren't we?" She squinted, anticipating Chucks response. "We could be aliens, maybe that's why we're here"  
"yeah, and this place is paradise" Amelia joked, taking a sip out of the bowl, pleasantly surprised.  
"Everyone's been saying you want to be a Runner" Chuck snorted a laugh, slapping his knee.  
"What's so funny, plod?" Chuck scrunched his face up, distinctly confused by her Glade slang. He paused, deciding not to mention it. "Well, Newt will show you today, for the tour, and you'll change your mind." Amelia didn't need the tour and wasn't exactly appealed by it, but, anything was better than sitting in 'the pit.' "Well, whatever he's gonna show me, it's not going to be nothin' compared to what I've seen." She polished off the bowl, pushing it back to Chuck and wiping her mouth, letting out a few small burps. "Ladylike" He frowned, placing the bowl to one side. He looked awfully uncomfortable for the situation. "I can do it bigger" she winked, twirling a piece of grass around her fingers. "Ew"  
"don't push me". They both stood, drenched in silence for a few eternities of seconds, neither of them knowing what to say. Chuck spoke up "I never thought girls would be like this." She pulled a frown and crossed her arms, trying to look as intimidating as possible, "like what?" She quickly challenged, raising her eyebrows. "Well, you know," he sighed ", you're kinda disappointing. You act like all the other boys here, you're hardly different. I thought women were meant to be polite and-"  
"weak, domestic, passive? Sorry to burst your bubble, Chuck, but in this situation, I don't think anyone can act like that." She established, harshly, pulling away from the bars. Amelia ran her hand through her short hair, foiled at how ridiculous the kid was being. "Sorry, I shouldn't've mentioned anything" he mumbled, clasping his hands. Strange to think she wanted nothing more than someone to talk to ten minutes' prior. yet, now, she wanted nothing more than Chuck to stuff off. "Yeah well, leave me be and come back when you're strong enough to bear a child and bleed out of your fucking vagina every month." She wilted in her corner, waiting for him to leave. He wouldn't take the hint. Amelia opened her mouth to shoo him off when a hand bashed him on the back and he stood up to leave.

* * *

"Rise and shine, Green Bean. You ready for the tour?" Newt crouched, grinning the world. Relived that she could leave finally, she nodded. "I love how you talk like I've only just woken up". She raised, placing her foot on a loose slab ready to climb out. "Whoa, hold on there shank. How do I know you're not gonna attack me and run away?" She shrugged, not pulling away from her post.  
"You don't," he frowned ", plus, where am I gonna go?" Newt whipped out his keys and sighed, fumbling for the lock "The Maze, for one. I wouldn't put it past ya." The gate flew open, Newt dodging out of the way just before it clunked him in the head. Amelia instantly shuffled out, knocking her head back, inhaling the fresh air. "Must feel good" Newt said, guiding Amelia over to their first destination.

* * *

He took her round to the homestead first, showing her where everyone slept. "For each of the jobs, there are rooms full of beds for 'em," He led her into the first one on the thin corridor ", This is the Runners room. They get a smaller one because there's not many of them" It was so messy, she thought. Messier than she was. And it smelt dire. "And bladie bladie bla." Well put. "On this side, it's where the Keepers sleep. They have their own personal rooms since they serve such a big purpose in the Glade". Some of the doors to the bedrooms had been engulfed in names of the Keepers, Minho's name coming out on top for almost all of them. "I doubt they'd like us going in, though. God bloody knows what they've got in there and I sure as hell aint' ready to find out today." Amelia didn't say anything, just went where he took her. In her own Glade, everyone had an individual room, apart from her and Marnie. They shared a room. Not the same bed, though, Marnie owned a hammock that she loved to sleep in. But, she ventured into Amelia's bed when doing… _other stuff_.

* * *

Nearer the end of the narrow lane, they scaled the stairs up to a square of wood and three doors. Gesturing to the first room, she was informed that it was where the 'Med-Jacks' worked their magic. They were the same things as the Interns. The door on the corresponding wall was Alby's room, the door next to that, Newts.

* * *

"Welcome to my bloody hideout." He threw his arms up before jumping on _his_ hammock. He seemed to be the only one who had a hammock. _Marnie_ was the only one who had a hammock. She then realized that Newt was the Marnie of their Glade, _her_ Glade. She pushed her thoughts away and nodded, clasping her arms. "Very nice. I'm intrigued, tell me more about this manor." Sarcasm was her strong point. Newt rolled his eyes and his body off the bed, "god, we can't have another shuckin' Minho in the Glade. I can hardly deal with one." He sat on a chair at the end of his hammock, spreading his legs and leaning backwards. "Well," Amelia sighed "thanks for counting me as my own individual person. You continue to be lonely, here." She turned to leave when Newt blocked her path, standing relatively close to her. She folded her arms and took a step back from him, hitching up her leather jacket. "I won't be lonely now I've got you, Green Bean." He grinned, childishly, rocking back and forth on his toes. She tried so hard not to think of Marnie at that point, and her childish nature. "And what's that supposed to mean?" Amelia asked, trying to slide around him. Didn't work. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gently pushed her back. "It means you'll be stayin' in my room 'til we know what to do with you." This time, Amelia took a step forward, able to feel his breath. "What to do with me? I'll tell you what you're going to do with me. You're gonna try me out for the Runners, I'll make it in. I'll sleep with the other boy's downstairs, doesn't matter that I'm a girl. Boo hoo, I'm sure both them and I can deal with human body parts. Life in the Glade is going to go back to normal and everyone's gonna be fuckin' happy." She inhaled densely, attaining that she hadn't taken a breath throughout her whole rant. "Shank. I bloody tell you what to do," he began calmly at first ", just because you're here now doesn't mean that you can just shucking knock me off my role. Bloody hell," he initiated raising his voice, almost shouting but not quite there "you say that everything's gonna go back to normal. Huh? Nothing can be normal now that you're buggin' here. NOTHIN'." Amelia didn't flinch, she didn't even take a step back. Just gave no reaction, no fuel. "Now, listen to this. You're gonna go to that gatherin' today and you're gonna tell us everything you bloody know. Then, tomorrow, Chuck will take you around the Glade, testing you out for the jobs. That'll go on for two to three days, depends how fast 'yar-"  
"I'm pretty fast."  
"Once you find your job, you're gonna work like everyone else. You're just like any other Glader, nothin' different." His chest rose and sank, stepping away and returning to sit in his small chair. Amelia licked her lips and left her arms go listless. "Newt," she sighed ", you know I'm not _just_ like any Glader, don't you?" He didn't speak, looking down and fiddling with his fingers. "I know things, Newt. I know a lot. We both want things to go back to normal, right?" He nodded "And we both know that can't happen. I want to go home and be with my friends. I don't know about you, but you don't seem too elated, either. Yes, of course I'll tell you guys _everything_ ," that was a lie ", but once I do that, I want nothing more from you to try me out for a runner. You'll understand when I tell you tonight." She went to crouch down next to him, titling her head, breathing a 'Newt'. "Okay." He shook his body, regaining his gaze to Amelia. "Okay," he mumbled again "come on, let's uh- continue." She complied and they headed on.

* * *

They went around the Glade, him showing her where each Keeper worked and where everything else was located. By the end of the tour, it was getting quite late, the Runners had only just come back. The doors would throw their breeze soon. Amelia now thoroughly grasped where everything was. She rightly followed Newt around for the whole day, his legs were getting tired. Hers weren't.  
"You doin' okay?" He asked, patting her on the back. Smirking, she smacked him harder, pulling him in to a light headlock. "I think the question is, are _you_ okay?" He scanned the glade, leveling up. Amelia only just noticed his limp when she threw her eyes to the ground. Concluding not to talk about it, she smiled at him. Meaning it. "One more place to go. I want to show you something. Probably won't make a difference, but we have to show it to all the Greenies." Amelia knew he was taking her to a peeping hole in the Maze wall, to show her the Grievers. To scare her from ever going into the Maze. He led her to the forest, close to the West Door. It took them a while to get there, but when they did, both Newt and Amelia couldn't be bothered to open their mouths and communicate. He guided her over to the wall, his light hands on her back. She wouldn't've liked it normally, but she didn't mind it with Newt. His hands were warm, he made her feel comforted. _At home._ Pointing at the little slit of glass, they waited there. Amelia sat, hearing whirrs and clicks getting closer. Sounds she knew far too well. Amelia wasn't tired, she was never tired. Just worn out. Emotionally. Newt jerked back when the first leg arose from the darkness. It shocked Amelia too, but not in the same way. She'd seen them so often, she found them almost cute. Ignoring the fact that they were brutal monsters programmed to kill.

* * *

Newt puffed, putting both hands on her shoulders, heaving her up. "Right, let's go. You've seen it." She slipped her hands inside her pockets once she stood upright. "How long do I have to stay in the pit before the gathering?" She croaked, coughing the phlegm from her throat. Newt shrugged, his hands also in his pockets, gazing up at the orange sky, peeking through the leaves. "Dunno. I'm guessing around an hour." She could just manage a 'huh', quite glad she would be able to get some rest before the arguments began. She sniffed and brushed her nose. Must be near winter, she thought, since she catches colds very easily. "Hey, Newt?"  
"Mhm"  
"what month is it?" He took a moment to think, rubbing his hands together. Do they seriously not keep count of what day it is?  
"Well, somewhere near the new year. Guessing it's December. There's a calendar in the homestead. Only Clint keeps it up, he does love to be organised."  
"Right."

* * *

They attained the pit, Amelia slugging into it and collapsing in the corner, Newt managing a small chuckle. "See you in the gathering Green Bean," He paused drowsily grinning "Lee." And with that, he left. And so, did she.

* * *

 **232.1.6 | 7:02 P.M.**

" _Wow," Amelia gasped for air, dropping Harriet's limp body "you might just be the smartest Newbie I've ever met." She pushed Rachel to the wall, pinning her hands to her side. "You just killed yourself. Suicide. Literal suicide." Amelia rapidly pulled away, running her hands through her then-long hair. Rachel knitted her eyebrows. "Excuse me?" She raised her voice "Excuse me?! I'm trying to save your life here. I know the Maze is dangerous, but so are we." Amelia shook her head over and over, repeating 'no's' under her breath. "We are dead. Me, you, her," she pointed at Harriet's limber body "No one ever survives a night in the Maze. No one. You made it worse. So much worse." Rachel wasn't listening, just looking around for something to protect themselves with. "You got a knife on you?" Rachel asked, her long black hair slashing the side of her face. Amelia scratched her ear, pulling out multiple sharp items from her pockets. "You don't even have to ask. I always have a knife on me."  
"Thanks"  
"There's no time for manners, stick" Amelia grumbled, hauling Harriet's body over to Rachel who was cutting vines from the walls. "Yeah, some measly vines are gonna protect us from flesh eating aliens." Rachel didn't answer, just continued cutting, collecting the vines in her arms. "What happened to her anyway?" Rachel asked, nodding slightly to Harriet. Amelia kicked her in the side, trying to keep her cool. "She got stung"  
"stung?"  
"Yes, you deaf old bat. Stung." Rachel flipped her head back and concentrated on the cutting. The whirrs and clicks were gaining on them. "Could I get some help here?" Rachel bugged, rolling her eyes.  
"No. Not until you tell me what the fuck you're doing." Amelia stood behind her, tempted to punch Rachel in her nub face. Resisting the urge, she pulled out another, smaller knife and threw it around, raising her eyebrows. "Well, Harriet's our leader? She comes first." Rachel puffed, heading to the other wall and collecting more vines there. "Thanks for the explication schnick." Amelia hopped on one foot to another, sweating as the Grievers came closer.  
"Well, I'm going to pile the vines on top of her, she's unconscious so the Grievers won't notice her. I hope." Amelia threw her arms up and turned in a full circle.  
"What about us?"  
"Selfish brat" Rachel murmured under her breathe, not looking back. Abruptly, Amelia's hands her around her neck, attaching her to the wall (once again). The knife to her throat. "Listen, Newbie. We're about to die. I'd say it's better to save the living than the dead. Harriet is gone. She was stung and it would be a miracle if she lives to see tomorrow. Stop playing around and save yourself." She loosened her grip, flipping the knife back into her pocket. "I want to see my girlfriend again," she mumbled, holding back the tears full of fear, anger and longings. "I want __to kiss her one last time." She let go of Rachel, tucking her hair behind her ears. "I wish I could tell her that I loved her again, to see the look in her eyes" the tears gandered, "I'm sorry." She whispered even quieter. And with that, she ran._

* * *

She strained herself

* * *

 _Rachel gasped for air, almost feeling bad for Amelia. She'd seen how close her and Marnie were. And now it was all over. For her, at least. Rachel continued, not bothering that one of her friends had just run off. Once she had collected enough, she sat Harriet up and wrapped the vines around her, shielding her from anything that came their way. Eventually, when she'd covered every inch of Harriet's body, the Grievers were just around the corner. She took two steps back, admiring her work. She'd be perfectly safe. Surprisingly, Rachel wasn't scared whatsoever. She was just glad she saved at least one life. And she wasn't stopping there. When the first Griever turned the corner, Rachel didn't hesitate to sprint straight towards it, dodging its pincers as she gained on the beast. She didn't really know what she intended, just went for it. When she got close enough, she leapt, dove, if you will, straight over it. Landing ungracefully. She pushed herself up, knowing the Griever was right on her tail. She shot in the direction she saw Amelia go, trying to find her. She turned many corners, not really knowing where she was going. There was now more than one Griever after her, and she could hear some more up ahead. But she kept on. She twisted a corridor, unable to stop when yet another Griever stunned her, emerging from the only other path. It was too close for her to do the dive, too far for her to attack. There was no hope. She was surrounded. At least she saved Harriet.  
Feeling a harsh pain in her leg, she fell to the floor. One of the pincers had inserted itself. And with her last breaths, she screamed._

* * *

 **Amelia's POV**

 _I heard it. I heard the horrendous screech. There was no helping her. I couldn't do anything. But I tried. I turned back in the direction I came from. The running swiping my tears off my face. My bare feet slapped the ground, making the most unpleasant note. I tried to follow where the sound came from, the dreadful shriek. I knew I was getting close, I could hear muffled sounds just around the corner. No, the next corner. And then, when I saw her bleeding body, I lost control._

* * *

 _I hurdled myself at the large beast, busting it off Rachel. I had it pinned against the wall now. I'd gained back my command. Quickly flipping out my pocket knife, I sliced some wires, jabbing the soft, gooey areas when I got the chance. "Can you get up?!" I yelled at Rachel, spitting out the blood in my mouth. She was already on it, tackling the other Grievers, dodging their stingers. I pulled back, grabbing Rachel's arm and sprinting in the other direction, to where I was heading before. "Amelia, where are we going?" I could barely hear her over the amount of mechanical-made sounds. I didn't reply, it would slow me down. I let go of her hand when we turned the corner, the Grievers still severely close to us. We were slowing them down at each turn, making it a little easier for me to concentrate on where I was taking us. Thankfully, we hadn't gone the wrong way. Yet._

* * *

My ears wrung

* * *

 _I don't know how long we were running for, maybe ten minutes? But it felt like senility. We had no time to get tired, no time to wipe our sweat. She put her trust in my hands and I wasn't going to let her down. We reached the place I wanted to go. The only deep-maze half-wall with vines. Our last hope. I grabbed her hand once more and hoisted her up ahead, me following. We climbed the vines, I quickly stumbled over my words to explain to her what we were doing. I think she latched onto it eventually. The Grievers closely rummaged behind us, gaining speed as we went on. The vines didn't continue to the top, so I rapidly grabbed Rachel by the waist and thrust her up. She only just made it to clutching on to the top of the Maze wall. It was a rangy drop. If one of us slipped, it would be the end. I was just able to push Rachel's feet up so she could get a better grip on the wall. Rachel heaved herself up, using all her strength and reached out her hand to help me once she'd made it. I took it, feeling her soft skin against mine made me grasp that one last sliver of innocence before I was back to me again, fighting off Grievers for a job. She couldn't pull me up the whole way, so I had to help myself a little, placing my feet where they needed to go. I could numbly hear Rachel's shouts as the Grievers gathered upon me. And, with one last pull, I was safe.  
For five seconds._

* * *

 _But, we didn't have five seconds to spare. We ran up and down the tops of the maze, banging into taller walls every now and again. For, these walls we were running on were only half the size of what the full maze would be. I took a sharp glance down at the Maze floor. Seeing piles of Grievers climbing, heading towards us. They must be hungry. They haven't eaten in almost half a year. Did they even eat people?  
I pointed at a large gap between us and another smaller wall. One thing I knew as a fact. The Grievers are terrible at jumping. They weren't programmed to do so. Us, however, we were... acceptable. I suggested we kept running around until we'd collected all the Grievers in the section up to the half-walls. We ran in full circles, some Grievers tipping off the edge as there was no room for them. Thankfully, the ones that fell were dead, Rachel told me so. Or, yelled me so. All the more evidence our plan was going to work. Every single human and creature was balancing on a very thin thread, any one of them could easily topple over at any point in time. They were ready. Rachel gave me the look, I gave her one. Our confirmed exchanged expressions led us to run in sync. We were close. More than close.  
Three.  
Two.  
One.  
Hurling._

* * *

 _It felt like slow-motion. The breeze passing through my hands made me forget what our motive was. I was flying. Finally flying. I'd always wanted to for most of my life. And, it felt incredible. Like I'd finally gained a piece of myself I'd been longing for. But then it stopped. We landed.  
We landed on a lower half-wall just across from where we leapt. My bones collided, smacking me into the ground. I could hear a slight groan from Rachel, who'd landed after me. Despite the pain, I jolted up, spinning around to see no spider-looking creatures. We'd done it. We were the first ones to kill a Griever. Multiple Grievers. And survive a night in the Maze. Hopefully._

* * *

 _I helped Rachel up. Her leg seemed fractured but it was nothing the Interns couldn't fix. Myah could just wave her magic fingers and it would be all okay. Everything is okay. We supported each other as we stumbled down the vines, collecting ourselves. We didn't talk much. Rachel sobbed and I checked us both for stings. We were free of infections, so we started back to the opening of the maze. Relived to find Harriet safe and sound, we sat by her. Gaping, gasping for air. Waiting patiently for the doors to open._

* * *

I convulsed

* * *

 _We were leaning against one another; our chests rose together and fell together. Her dry eyes flickered and mine hung half open. The walls had moved around just after we sat down, so we knew we had more than four hours left to go. Everything was silent after the walls changed. Almost too silent. Every now and again I could faintly hear wails and sobs coming from the Glade. They must be feeling just as much pain as us. Rachel finally fell asleep on me, lightly snoring. I didn't respect her before that night, I guess the girls that've been in the Glade for a while just discard the Newbies. But we were all in their shoes once. They need things explaining to them. I didn't like Rachel when she first came. She asked to many questions, bugged too many people. But she'd just saved my life. Harriet's life. There was nothing that I could put into words to thank her. It made me think about my skills as a Captain. I didn't necessarily give up, I would never do that. But I abandoned everyone for the sake of myself. And I would make sure that it never happened again. I kicked my legs out in front of me and fully closed my eyes. Forcing myself to sleep. But it didn't come. I was full of excitement, hope and hysteria. So, I just sat there, twiddling Rachel's hair as it was the only thing I could fidget with. I could never stay still for more than two seconds._

* * *

I relaxed a little

* * *

 _I don't know how long we sat there against each other, all huddled together. But it was quite a while, three hours at the least. But, finally, I felt my hair blow out behind me. The doors were finally opening.  
I shook Rachel up, smirking. "U- what's wrong?"  
"We're going home." She smiled, bolting to her feet and hugging me tightly. Almost toppling over, I hugged her back, startled at the unexpected move. I wasn't usually one for hugs, but in this situation, it felt right. We uncovered Harriet, kicking the vines to one side and we smiled like little girls. I would get to see Marnie again._

* * *

 _I picked Harriet up, I had arms, she had legs. Our hair intertwined as the gust blew us back. As soon as I saw the smallest slit, I signaled for us to run. I couldn't wait fifteen freaking minutes for the door to open. I barely squeezed through, but with the door submitting to shrinking every second, it was pretty easy to push our way as we went. Half-way there. I could see a crossed leg, a hand tapping it nervously. A hand with a scar. It was Marnie's. She waited for me._

* * *

I smiled

* * *

 _I dropped Harriet, not caring that I left Rachel and her behind. I stumbled through, skimming the walls. I was going so fast I almost fell out when I reached the end. Before she could even notice me, I was on her, hugging her. Many gasps flew around the Glade, but the one I loved hearing the most was Marnie's, when I knocked the air out of her. "I knew you would make it." She whispered, holding me tighter. I didn't respond, just dug my face deeper into her hair. She cried, I almost did. I felt guilty for not breaking, but I let it slide. I'd cried many times in front of her. She knew I was capable of it. Besides, the situation was more exiting than emotional. I whispered 'I love you' before standing up and pulling many other of my friends in. Sally, Myah, Beth, Daphne, Lillie, Izzy, Ellie, Polly. I'd never leave any one of them again._

* * *

"Shank, wake up. You're bloody sweating balls. Looks like you've spent a day out in the shuckin' maze." Newt shook me up, grinning. He changed out of his hoodie in to something more fancy. By fancy, I mean he wore a dirty shirt with _no_ tears in it. I pushed myself up, deciding that it would be easier to write my dream down after the gathering. "Right, thanks for being civil." I winked, thinking I should look somewhat nicer, like him. I shrugged my leather jacket off and tucked in my pale-yellow shirt that I'd been wearing since coming up. "Let's get this over and done with." I sighed, following Newt out of the pit. "Good that." He patted me on the back and pointed at where we needed to go. I didn't really look, just followed him.

* * *

There was this whole other separate building that held oddly placed chairs, only one at the front. Two more chairs sat a little bit in front of the others. Some seats were stacked at the back, but only a few. He sat me down in the front seat, telling me to stay there until the gathering was over. Only a couple people were there, Alby being one. Glaring at me intensely. I didn't understand why. He wasn't the one with a broken nose. Newt sat down next to Alby in the front two seats, while other Keepers piled in. I noticed Minho in the crowd somewhere. Some others I'd seen before, too. The majority, I didn't know. Once everyone had sat down, Alby began.

* * *

"Greenie. Let's try to do this without a disturbance. Okay?" I rolled my eyes, nodding. "You're going to talk. Tell us everything you know. Then, answer our questions. After that. You will stay silent while we decide what to do with you."  
"Go ahead." Newt gave a nod. I straightened up, folding my arms and leaning forward. "Well. There was a Maze. A Glade. Girls," Minho sniggered "I was Keeper of the Runners. Aaannd, I was there for quite some time. So, you can guess how I feel now. Random strangers. Boys, in my memory I've never talked to them before. A whole new Glade. It kinda freaked me out. So, sorry that I offended you, Alby, by hurting you. But get used to it. Not everything can be all happy-go-lucky," I paused, taking in a deep breath. "But, I will be courtly and follow your rules from now on. I'm going to try out for the jobs, I'm going to be just like any other Glader. Although... I do want to be given at least one chance for running. If you believe me, you would believe that I was Cap- Keeper of the Runners at one point." I sighed "Done." Leaning back. That wasn't everything, but I didn't want to waste their time with all the 'WICKED' stuff. They'd probably figured it out already. I raised my eyebrows, looking at all the confused faces spread across the room. Alby nodded, murmuring something to Newt. "Okay, everyone," Alby shouted ", you can talk now!" And then, the room blew up. Yells flung themselves at each other. I didn't know if I could talk, so I stayed silent, picking at a slab of loose skin. The only voice I didn't hear was Minho's. He probably wasn't surprised since I'd told him before. He just sat there, staring at everyone else, and me. A couple minutes later Alby held his hand up, halting everyone in their speech. "Questions. We'll go around one by one. Ask as many questions as you want. Make sure it's not too long, though." They started with a kid named Winston who was labelled Keeper of the Slicers. "So, was the Glade the same as ours or was it completely different?" He asked, leaning forward. I glanced out the window, frowning. "It was the same shape, yeah. The forest is in the same area, and so it the stream. The buildings are in offbeat areas, though. All the man-made stuff is jumbled." He nodded, along with a few others, seeming to get the gist of what I was picturing. "And," he continued ", how about the Maze?" I flopped down, raising my eyebrows, flinging my arms around. "Well, I'd sure like to know." I heard a few whispers and giggles float, making me smirk. "Yeah. Well, obviously. But, describe your Maze. Prove that you're a runner." Did they seriously not believe me? I'd given so much information already. "Okay. There was a small, tight maze leading on from each of the four doors. That went on for about seven miles. When you got closer to the outside, the paths got bigger and the walls, taller. But I think they were useless. Each runner had a section. Mine was four. In section eight, though, there's a big invisible wall thing that leads to nothing. We sent a girl named Tilly down there once. Didn't go so well..." Minho spoke up.  
"Sounds about the same. Did the walls change every night?"  
"Minho it's not your turn." Alby stood, folding his arms.  
"Yeah, they did. We drew maps everyday but there was no hidden message. We continued doing it anyway. The Maze is there for a reason." Alby sank, visibly angered that people weren't following his instructions. "Alright," he shouted, fed up ", Zart. Go ahead." Zart sat on a seat that had Track-hoes calved into it. He eyed me up, lowering his eyebrows, unsure what to ask. "How cute were these girls?"  
"Zart." Newt warned, rolling his eyes. I chuckled, as did Minho. We both knew what I was going to say. "Cute. Too good for you. Some of them, almost too good for me." Like Marnie. Zart seemed satisfied, slugging back into his chair.

* * *

We zoomed through a few more people. Sid – Keeper of the Sloppers, Jonathan – Bricknicks and Daemon – Keeper of the Baggers. They asked normal questions. Nothing massively important. Clint spoke next, asking if the girls in the Medical field were better than him. "I wouldn't know. I mean, they were good. I just need to injure myself before I can give you the results. Won't be long 'til I get back to ya, promise." Frypan, the cook sounded next, brushing some butter off his apron. "Why do you want to be a runner so bad? I mean, obviously, you're a Keeper. Or were. But, you said yourself that the Maze gave you nothing whatsoever. Why are you so confident you'll find something here?" I puffed up my cheeks, thinking about the question. Why did I want to be a runner? Wouldn't it be nice to take a break, do something different? No. "Because it's a part of me. Without my excessive exercising and running, I wilt. Also, I know there's an end. I just didn't find it in the previous one. But we're obviously put in here for a reason, so why give up now, right?" A couple of heads bounced, some whistles and a clap from Minho. "Right, who's next..." Alby scanned the small audience "Minho, go ahead. Ask away." He leaned in, squinting at me. Smirking and giving a roll of the eyes, I slumped back. "Would you care to race me?" He glowed, leaning in further. "You know, to prove that you're a runner. If you beat me, I say we try you out. If you lose, well. Good luck slopping," Everyone laughed at that. "If we draw, then we'll think about it. Good?" I bit my lip, ready for the challenge. "I'm in. After this, you and me big guy." He winked, I did it back.  
"Hold on there, I didn't agree to this... Newt?"  
"I say it's a bloody great idea." The blond boy grinned at the two of us. "It's on." Alby sighed. I almost felt sorry for the boy. "That's it. My only question." He fell back, as did I, waiting for Gally to share his thoughts and unanswered questions. "How do we know we can trust this shank?" He flung an arm at me, standing up. "She shows up here, our first girl, and it wasn't even an hour before she took down our first man." I chuckled at him using the term 'man'.  
"To be fair," Minho stated ", he did harass her. I would've done the same thing." Newt nodded, turning around to face Gally.  
"What's your question?" I asked, joking around.  
"I have non- but how can we trust you when you've beaten someone up?" He raised his voice, pointing his dirty, splintered fingers at me. "Well, I've told you everything so far. If you've been in the Glade long enough, you'd be able to easily tell when someone's lying or not. And, what else was I supposed to do? Bloody kiss him?" I shrugged, not sure what else to say. "Sorry if you don't trust me, I wouldn't either, mate. But I'm here now and there's nothing really anyone can do about that. Believe me, I want to leave this place more than you want me to plod off. But I can't. So, suck it up and put your big boy pants on." I sarcastically smiled, bumping my shoulders up. Gally didn't say anything else, just rolled his eyes and tumbled down, nearly missing the chair.  
We'd gotten through everyone. It was time for the 'what to do with the Newbie' game.

* * *

"I say we do what Minho said. We should try her for running against him, if she does well then we will try her out along with the other jobs." Frypan suggested. "Sounds like a plan. Alby?" Newt nudged his friend.  
"Sure. It'd be good to have her away half the day anyway." I couldn't help but make eye contact with Minho and smirk, trying not to laugh as he pulled funny faces at me. I pulled them back. Conversations went on for what seemed like a century. Yeses and no's, questions and answers. It was all getting a bit too much. Finally, though, it was over. And I was sent out into the blackness of the night, to race the Keeper of the Runners.  
Oh shit.

* * *

Some other boys woke up to watch, most of them dreary and exhausted, woken up by their Keepers or friends. "Right," Newt patted us both on the back ", we're gonna go from the east to west door in five minutes, get ready".  
"I'm so gonna beat your butt." I chortled, stretching. He scoffed, shaking his head.  
"You wish. A girl couldn't outrun me." He smiled at me. I was unable to tell if he was being serious or not. That just gave me even more reason to win, I loved proving people wrong. "Guess I don't need to meet you in the Mapping Room then." I laughed, trying to snoop on some conversations that spread around. "Nah. Guess you told me everything. Huh?" He stretched as I jogged on the spot, feeling a sense of nerve rise inside of me. I kicked my shoes off to the side, standing as far as I could on my tiptoes without wincing. "Why no shoes?" He asked, frowning. Looking down at his own, and then to my bare feet. "Don't know," I responded ", never run with shoes on. No clue why. Makes me feel like I'm flying, I guess. Like I'm free." He smiled. I tied my hair and hunched up my sleeves. There was a lot more boys now, some of them even cheering. I was so ready. We both walked to the back wall, kids lined either way. We put our feet on the Maze's vines, breathing calmly. Newt walked up to us, wishing us both good luck, telling us exactly what we should do and when to do it. And then, he ran back to Alby at the 'finish line'.  
"Good luck." He whispered, jokingly giving me the evillest look. I grinned sarcastically and placed my hand on my heart. As if blocking it would stop it hurdling out of my chest. "Ready?" Alby shouted, we both gave the thumbs up. He had a whistle, and when it went, we ran. Newt held up his fingers, although it was quite difficult to see.  
One  
Two  
Three  
Running

* * *

Minho, of course, took the lead. Only a few inches in front of me, though. I pushed on, sprinting as fast as I could. I _really_ wanted this. My long legs stretched out further than his, so it was quite easy to catch up to him. I kept even breaths, trying not to let panting take over me, as he was doing. Yeah, he was fast, but he'd quickly let that fast bolt slip if he didn't use the right techniques. I tried to block out the boys cheering on Minho and focus on my pace. I was one foot ahead of him. Two. I let a smile cross my face, it really did feel like I was flying. I continued, crossing into his lane. I tipped my head back, laughing. Not mocking at him, but me. At how ridiculous I probably looked. I couldn't lose this, so I quickly tilted my head back when I saw him gaining on me. Wrath had taken over him. I couldn't stop smirking, as much as I tried, I couldn't. I was still far ahead of him, but he was catching up to me. My sides started to ache, but I ignored that, only focusing on the prise. The Maze.  
I could hear Newt say 'bloody hell', I was getting close. My heart thumped uncontrollably. Minho was catching up, but not enough to overtake me. I sprinted like I'd never done before. Not even able to see my legs, I was going that fast. I peeped over my shoulder to see Minho getting further and further away. I had this.  
But then, I didn't. I was _so_ close. A vast thorn threw itself into the soul of my foot, blood seeping everywhere. I had to make it. The end was only a few metres away. Minho now was, too. So, I did what any insane person would do. I kept running. I loathed the pain of the thorn sinking into me at first, but then it just stung. I didn't sprint as fast as I was going, but I was still ahead of Minho and that's what mattered when I touched that wall.  
I touched the wall.

* * *

I fell to the ground, my head in my hands. I'd done it. I'd beat the Keeper of the Runners in a race. He was only milliseconds after me. But that didn't matter. _I won_. He leaned against the Maze wall, panting horrifically as I was. The pain was unbearable. Boys gathered around us, slapping us on the backs and cheering. Guess they hadn't seen the bloody mess that was my foot. Newt was the first to notice it. "Lee, you're foot's bleeding." I nodded. Like I wouldn't know if my foot was bleeding. "Call the Med-jacks, get em to look at her foot. Looks as if something got jabbed into it." I kicked him off me. Nothing was more uncomfortable than this. A bunch of boys gathering and looking at you, a pain that won't leave you alone, you sweat and you smell, you're dirty. But I'd won. So, none of that mattered.  
I won.

* * *

I raised my head to see Minho running off to the Mapping Room. Poor guy. Must be embarrassing. Jeff and Clint ran towards me, taking a seat in the long grass. "You alright Greenie? You did well out there." Jeff patted me on the back, pulling out a first-aid kit Clint had lent to him. "Thanks." I groaned, pushing myself onto my butt. I didn't really want them to tend to me. Although the agony was oppressive, I longed to go tease Minho. "Hang on. I'll me back, parents." I kidded, already standing up and staggering over to the Mapping Room. "You can't leave! You're losing a lot of blood." Clint shouted after me. Strange how none of them stood up, though. They could've easily caught up and brought me back. But, I hobbled on, focusing on where Minho had fled to. I hadn't seen him leave yet, so I was sure he was still located somewhere in there. It took me quite a while to lag over, but I was glad when I finally reached it. My clothes were stained with blood, as were my hands, some even on my face. God knew how it got there. I propelled the door open to see a frustrated Minho mapping some mazes he didn't even need to.

* * *

"Ah, back to square one. Weren't we young then?" I spoofed, referencing the original plan of meeting in the Mapping Room and only telling him, not the whole Glade.  
Whilst walking to the room, I had miraculously gathered smaller thorns, smaller rocks in my foot. Meaning that the bleeding could not and would not stop. I kicked the door shut behind me, he didn't turn around, not even a grunt. "You don't look too good, hot stuff. You okay?" I asked with genuine concern. And then he blew up.

* * *

"No! I'm not 'Okay'. Ever since you showed up, I'm being humiliated," he lowered his voice, still maddened, "You're freaking faster than me. And you're the shucking Greenie". I couldn't say anything back. I wanted to, but my mouth was unable to open. So, instead, I pulled a stool out and sat next to him, putting my head in my hand. My foot was in massive amounts of pain, leaving a bloody trail from where I entered the room. I pushed it aside. I had to help my friend before I considered myself. "We can forget about it" first time I'd been serious in a while.  
"How? Even if we try, no one in the Glade will forget it. To be honest, I'm terrified to go outside. You don't know how much those boys get on my nerves, and I'm gone for half the day." I smiled and sniffed, pulling out a spare piece of paper. My foot began to throb, the blood still flowing as fast as a downstream river.  
"Yeah. Well," I paused, flipping out a pencil ", here. Let's make something up. Something to say it was unfair. So, then we can run again. And you can win, meaning I'd still have a chance. But you'll seem... cooler?" He looked up, raising his eyebrows ", Let's say the ground was uneven," I suggested, nudging him and drawing a small sketch of the Glade ", here. There's a little bump in the ground. That could've slowed you down. Or, I guess, you could say I tripped you-" He stopped me by clasping my mouth, scrapping my drawings. "Shut up," he chuckled ", just slim-it." I frowned, licking his hand so he took it off my mouth.  
"What?" I snorted as he wiped his saliva-covered-hand on my shirt. Everything spun but I tried to keep my head straight. I would rush on to Clint and Jeff once Minho was happy. "We're not going to race again. You won that fair and square. I'm just a shuckin' baby. Let's do as you said and forget about it." He grinned, rubbing his forehead. Damn, those mood swings. Worse than some of the girls in the old Glade. "Okay," I whispered ", oh. And, thanks for wasting a perfectly good piece of paper." My face felt like a ghosts, I'm sure if I'd looked in the mirror at that moment, I would've mistaken myself for one. He pushed me and I very nearly toppled off the stool. Silence grew upon us, stealing our every breath. I hardly noticed the bleeding when having one of our annual 'staring contests'. I began to feel an excruciating headache. All of a sudden, banging my head against the table uncontrollably. "What's wrong?" He stroked my hair, stopping me from being so aggressive towards myself. "Minho," I said wearily ", do you have a... a bandage?" I could barely gasp the last word out. Before I fell to the floor, throwing my head against the cold ground. "Oh, my god- yeah." He fumbled around for something he could tie my wound with. My vision started to tear apart, my head spinning. I shouldn't've left it to bleed that long. He ended up slicing a part of his green shirt up and tying my foot in that. I winced, the long thorn was fully inserted in me. "Try to stay awake," he urged ", Jesus Christ." He shook me, although I was too gone for him to bring me back.

* * *

The last thing I saw was Minho, leaning over me, shouting random names, though I could hardly hear him.

* * *

I closed my eyes, finally. Feeling a light pressure on my forehead. And before I could even wonder if Minho had kissed me, I wandered off.

* * *

 **Yes!  
Finally finished. Again, school is stressful still and I can't write as much as I'd like to. It sucks, but I'm putting in **_**a lot**_ **of work into this, as some of my friends know! Thanks for your support!  
Anaofthesevenseas: Yes! I wanted to make Amelia British because I thought it might be cool for a change.  
Green'n'lust: Yup! Thought no one would get that. Marnie does have some kind of German accent but sounds mainly American as she's spent most of her life with Americans :)  
Valklea: Awe 3 thank you! I'm planning on doing quite a few chapters on this (By quite a few I mean like 600 XD) But I hopefully will be doing all three books following Amelia. Since I have 5k+ words every chapter, I doubt there will be more than twenty or thirty. But don't worry, that won't be the end of it. I will continue it throughout the trilogy. But, I will create separate fanfics for each because I don't want them to get too long. Thanks for your support :)  
Shelia: I don't know. I might be creating a poal on for this (which I will link) so that people can vote on who _you_ want her to be with. And, I won't be away for ageessss XD **

**I want to thank you all for reading! The next chapter will be out in a week or two. Here's the link to the one on wattpad:  
436685473-running-for-reason-racing-fading-memories  
**


	4. Cake

**'I like it when you smile. But I love it when I'm the reason.'**  
 **\- Jessica Halmond**

* * *

 **230.1.1 | 1:23 P.M.**

 _She was knocked out for half of the ride from smashing her head against the wall violently. She was bleeding, not too much. But still enough to pain her. The box she was in seemed to be going up, but it was hard to tell. The walls were crossed with metal bars and flashing lights. The girl chocked on her own breath, finally waking up. She wiped her hand over her head. Great. Now she had bloody fingers. Having no clue where she was going, she panicked, hitting the side of the walls and screaming out in her weirdly deep voice. She couldn't remember anything apart from her name and general literature. A few faces rushed through her head, then disappeared into the jumble of other words she had knowledge of, useless things. "Someone let me out!" She husked, kicking the random crates that'd been supplied with her. I'm going to die, she thought, giving up and curling into a tight ball on the floor, breathing in musk and fibers that mustn't be good for the lungs. She didn't cry, just whimpered, accepting whatever came next. The girl tried to rock herself to sleep. But, it was impossible due to the clanging sound of chain against chain._

* * *

 _The box came to a halt, knocking the girl forward, straight onto her stomach. She groaned, pushing herself up. Finding it easy to do so. She took a leer at her arms. Very muscular. Wondering how she got so strong, the girl returned to her small corner she was in a few minutes earlier. One thing she quickly found out about herself, she was easily distracted. There was a lusty banging sound and something sounded like it fell over and smashed. Then, a slit of light arose, almost obliviating the girls vision. This was it. She was dying.  
Or, it was something just as bad as dying._

* * *

 _Two or three girls showed their faces, peering down at the new girl._

* * *

" _Wh- I" the Newbie tried to start, stumbling over her words. She attempted to stand up but fell back down again. Her head was still spinning, her body still felt the pressure. "Welcome to the Glade, Tyro. Need a hand?" A tall, brown girl asked, tossing her a rope. The Newbie didn't move, just darted her eyes between each of the girls. There were only around nine of them, most didn't even have their eyes on her, but rather each other. Laughing and giggling. "Where am I?" The Tyro managed to botch out, supporting herself with the boxes holed walls. The brown dreaded girl laughed and ended up hauling the girl out. "Like I said. You're in the Glade. This is your home now, Newbie." She sighed, patting her on the back. "My name's Harriet and I'm the boss lady. Put your trust in me, because you can't hold all of it for yourself. Sharing is caring." She gave a wink and started to walk away, heading back to whatever she was doing prior to the Tyro. "Wait!" The newest girl shouted, her voice cracking. But Harriet was already gone. She looked around, scoping the Glade. So many questions ran through her head. Where was she? Why was she here? Where are the boys? But no one was there to answer them. On all four sides of the Glade, there were large stone doors, spread wide open. Possibly the way out. But if so, why wasn't anyone leaving? The Glade was mainly grass, some stone paths but not many. There was a dark forest in one section of it, and scattered around were some building equipment and scaffolding. She couldn't remember anything but her name. Amelia. It was like they drained her memory but kept all the details she needed, like languages and knowledge of certain things, but wiping faces and names.  
No, that's exactly what it was._

* * *

 _The girl sprinted away as fast as she could towards one of the openings, wondering why no one had left. Yells and whoops scattered as she went. The other girls had finally started to notice her.  
The New girl kept running, jumping over little bumps in the land. She didn't care that she was being humiliated, Amelia only wanted to escape. Having a while to run, she made an effort to trace back her memory. But she just couldn't, it hurt her head to try. The path she was heading down to had two massive walls on either side of it, gathering the Glade._

* * *

 _She was almost there, sprinting her life. None of the other girls tried to stop her, they just laughed. Mustn't me dangerous then, she thought. The questions continued threading through her mind, producing more every second. She didn't know where she came from, and didn't know what she did to deserve being in the prison-like-gardens._

* * *

 _She made it to the walls, stopping just before she ventured into the forest of stone. She put one foot in, testing it out like testing the temperature in a pool before dipping in. "I wouldn't go in there if I were you." A sweet voice chimed, startling Amelia. She glanced to her left, seeing an innocent looking brunette girl sitting in long grass, a flower crown in her hair. She was reading a book and the girls short white dress was randomly stained with grass and dirt. She looked like nature herself. Amelia ignored her, stepping in further and looking around. It seemed like there were two paths at the end of the first, what was this, some kind of maze? She wandered deeper, brushing her hand against the wall. Amelia calmed down, she felt quite peaceful hidden in the stone walls, the sensation was nicer than being in the Glade. She was about to turn left in the wide corridor when a soft hand slipped into hers, tugging her back. "I wasn't goofing and gaffing." The brunette girl said softly, Amelia hearing a slight German accent. "What is this place?" She croaked, slowly turning her head around to face the girl. She looked around fifteen, maybe in her early sixteens. "I'll explain everything if you come back with me." The girl begged, hopping on one foot to another. "Fine." Amelia sighed, following the braided girl, their hands still linked. The naturalistic dragged her out, pulling Amelia to where she was sitting previously. She sat them both down, folding the corner of her page and turning to look at Amelia. "My name's Marnie." She smiled, tilting her head. "Do you remember yours?" Marnie asked, leaning in closer. Amelia nodded, gulping. The girls nose was perfectly hooked and her eyes, they reflected the blue of the sky. "My name's Amelia." She replied, picking at the grass. "That's a pretty name. Can I call you Lia?" Marnie leant back, her flower crown falling to the ground and snapping apart. Amelia nodded, bringing back some memories she couldn't pin down. "I'd like that." She smiled for the first time since she appeared in the Glade, glad that she'd found a friend. "I'm going to try to tell you everything I know. Okay?" Amelia lied back next to her. "Okay." She breathed, turning her head to look at Marnie._

* * *

" _So, You're our second Tyro. That's what we call the newest members, along with Newbie. Me and thirty others came up-"  
"thirty?" Amelia chimed in "But there's only like… eleven of you."  
"Oh. Yeah. I was about to get to that," she sniffed ", well a handful of volunteers went into the Maze," so it was a maze ", and we didn't know that the doors closed at night-"  
"they do?"  
"Yeah, they do. They didn't make it back and the next morning," she tried to hold back the water in her eyes ", we found a pile of clothes and the walls were stained with blood. God knows what got to them. No one has ever gone in the Maze since. Now there's only twelve or thirteen of us. Harriet leads the group, and I'm second-in-command. We've only had two people come up in the box. You and another girl named Victoria. She came a month before you."  
"Do you remember anything?" Amelia asked, shaking. She didn't want to cry in front of the girl, even though she was openly crying in the eyes of Amelia. "Nope. I only remember my name," she listed on her fingers ", English and German, and common sense. Oh, and the past three weeks I've been here. Ya know, I've read this book five times. It's the only one we have in the Glade. It's a really beautiful book." She nodded her head at it, quite hard for Amelia to see because of the tall flowers and grass. The book was a deep yellow, almost as bright as Marnie's smile. On the book, 'Not Everyone Has to Be the Chosen One' was dinted on it. "What's it called?" Of all the questions, she could've asked, she questioned what book Marnie was reading. "Oh, it's called The Rest of Us Just Live Here. It's a really good book. You should read it sometime." The girl made Amelia feel safe. Like she wasn't alone. They sat in silence for years. Not awkward way, they were taking the quiet in like it was their oxygen. "Marnie?" Amelia strained her voice "What do I look like? Describe every detail on my face." With that, Marnie jerked up, scanning Amelia.  
"Well, you have bright green eyes. Seriously, they're blinding me" Amelia giggled, blushing. "You have long, thick wavy blonde-ish hair. Bit too dark for blonde but too light for brunette. You look around," Marnie investigated her structure, scrunching up her face "fifteen, sixteen maybe."  
"What about my facial features?" Amelia raised her eyebrows, interested in what the girl had to say. "Well, you have a well chiseled jaw, your eyes are pretty and round," Amelia felt tingles down her spine as the girl leant in even closer, brushing the hair out of her face ", your eyebrows don't have much of an arch, and, the nose is really cute and buttoned," Marnie nodded once ", you're very neat, Lia." Although Amelia was still completely confused and scared for her life, she trusted Marnie. They were all in the same boat and Amelia was going to get them all out, no matter how long it took.  
She wanted to run the Maze._

* * *

She expired

* * *

" _Keep going Lee"  
"Leave me alone, Lia"  
"We can escape together... Amy"_

* * *

She sniveled

* * *

 **Amelia POV  
**

 **232.1.1 | 6:30 P.M.**

" _Marn, I'm starving. We don't know how long the box will be. I know you want to be there and welcome her like you do for everyone. I get it. You're good at it. But, I'm dying inside." I had spent more time than I desired in the maze, to find nothing. I was obviously piggish.  
"Okay," Marnie grumbled ", but we are eating fast because I want to show the Newbie a friendly face." She frowned, crossing her arms. I couldn't help myself but slightly bend down and kiss her on the cheek. She was adorable. "Hey, what was that for?" She smacked me on the shoulder, grinning a little, then remembering she was mad and returned to her foregoing position. "You're really cute when you're mad" I giggled, pushing her gently.  
"Aren't I cute always?" She said, laughing with me. She is more than cute, always. She's beautiful, always. I hesitated, scrunching my nose, pretending to think about it. "Hey! You're not cute either!" Her smile widened, making mine do the same. "Oh, I know. I'm angelic." I kidded. "Now, seriously I'm hungry. Let's go eat." So, we did, walking close together. All the while the wails of the box sounded._

* * *

" _Geez. You've got the Titanic on your plate." Marnie stated, tapping the table impatiently. "Like I said, I'm hungry." She nodded, rolling her eyes and slowly tucking into her speckle of food. I sat, taking no time to ravish the mash potatoes and gravy. We sat with Lizzy, Vic, Beth and Daphne, one of my fellow Clickers. We laughed and bickered for a short while, making fun of one another before the alarm stopped. By that time, I'd finished and so had everyone else. We didn't bother cleaning up, just rushed towards the box, ready to see the Tyro._

* * *

 _The slit was already fully open, the new girl covering her eyes from the sun. "Welcome to the Glade, Newbie." Harriet said, once again, what she said to every Tyro. The girl was medium height, smaller than me. Her eyes were a rich colour of brown. And her hair, tied back in a tight-black ponytail. She was wearing a leather jacket and a green, ripped t-shit. She looked like she'd put up a fight before coming to the Glade. The Tyro tried to open her mouth, but couldn't. A couple nasty giggles came from a few girls that were pointing at her. I stepped forward, jumping down in the box with her and helping the girl to get stable. "You're safe with us, Newbie." I murmured, helping her up out of the box. She looked so petrified, poor thing. Must've been through a lot. I never really helped out the Tyro's. But this one seemed like they needed it. I heaved her up out of the box and gave a small nod to Harriet, confirming that I could handle this one. I really couldn't._

* * *

 _As soon as she lay her feet on the grass, she sprinted towards the Maze. I had no clue what she was trying to do. Probably the same thing I tried to do when I first got to the Glade. Escape.  
I sprinted on after her, she was fast. But not as fast as me. I swiftly caught up and ahead of her, plunging my leg before the girl, making her trip, almost falling straight on her face before I caught her. "Come with me, Newbie." I said, far too stern, fixing my hand around her collar and dragging her over to the tree house. "What are you doing with me? Where am I? Who are you? Why can't I remember anything? What's out there?" Having enough, I grasped the girls mouth, shutting her up. "Hole-it Tyro. I'll try to explain as much as I can. Just follow me." She nodded, and I slowly released my hand from her face. She was crying silently to herself. I didn't want to feel bad, but your emotions overpower your brain. "Hey, hey. It's going to be okay. I've been here for two years now and I'm fine." The reaction Rachel gave told me I was terrible at comforting. "Two years? You've been here for two years?!" I concluded that talking wouldn't be the best thing at that moment._

* * *

 _We attained the tree-house, dumping my backpack by the stump. I let her go up first, just in case she decided to hop off again. I climbed close after her, holding the girl steady as she scaled the tree. "You okay?" I asked her. Stupid question. "No" she sat and shivered in the corner, glaring at me intensely.  
"That sounds about right," I sighed, slowing edging my way towards her ", I won't hurt you. No one here is going to hurt you. Do you trust me on that?" She gulped and consented with her head. "Good. Now, can you remember your name?" I sat down next to her, holding my hands out to show I don't possess any weapons. "R-Rachel." She closed her eyes, looking like she was going to throw-up. "Okay, Rachel. I'm about to tell you everything I know about what this place is, alright." Rachel bowed her head. "Good. So, as I said I've been here for two years. But, don't expect me to know a whole lot. My name is Amelia and I'm a Clicker-"  
"what's a Clicker?" She chimed in, looking more comfortable with the situation. "No questions, I will talk and then you will be free to ask questions. Each person has a job around the Glade-"  
"everyone." Rachel moaned, looking around.  
"Yes, princess. Everyone. Now hole-it. The Glade is the part we're in now, the grassy safe area that's encaged in these big stone walls," I held out my hand and pointed to the Maze ", we have a place to sleep, a place to eat. And there's many more random buildings. By the looks of ya', you'll be a Plodder." Obviously, Rachel wouldn't know what a Plodder was, but that's what made it all the more humours. "There are all different types of jobs, ranging from Stackers to Clickers. Stackers help build things around the Glade and Clickers run the Maze." Rachel looked worried, raising from her seated position. "Whoa there Newbie. Where d'ya think you're going." I said, putting a hand on her knee.  
"T-there's a Maze… outside of the walls?" She returned to sit, thankfully. Folding up into a ball. "Yeah. It's complicated. Like I said, I'm a Clicker and I run the Maze at day time. Today is a Friday, it's my day off. That's why I'm here with you now. I run the Maze to try and find a way out. I don't want to scare you but we're kinda stuck in here until we… escape." She gave no reaction to the last part, it's like she'd figured out that this was a reality. "I'm not scared. I'm already too anxious, I can't possibly get any more". Rachel now rocked back and forth, banging her head against the back wall. "Never go in the Maze. It's only open for Clickers and Harriet, our leader. Possibly Marnie. Why?" I rhetoricalised, already speaking her question "Because there's flesh-eating monsters in there that will eat your brains out," I put calmly, brushing a speck of dirt off my shoulder. Funny, since I had so many other dirt splodges on me. No reaction to that either, she just let cold tears trickle down her cheek. "We have very strict rules around here, you can't hurt any other Glader, we're all in the same shoes as you. Never go into the Maze, especially if you're a Newbie. You won't ever see the light of day again. Don't disturb anyone's sleep if before three am and everyone must be in bed before one," I leant in closer to her and murmured ", though I never am. And, there's a bunch more. But, I'm sure Harriet will list all those for you. Just zone out, that's what I did. And I'm still here. You probably can't remember anything. No, you certainly can't remember anything. That's normal. None of us do. We only know our names and the history we've had in the Glade." I sighed, tilting my head at her "any questions you have?" She shrugged, still crying silently.  
_ _"How can you become a Clicker?"_

* * *

I felt the pressure on my forehead I sensed the night before.

* * *

 **3** **rd** **Person**

" _Yeah. She's completely insane." Amelia spluttered with her mouth open, talking to multiple of her friends. "She sounds like a right one to deal with," Daphne giggled, nudging Polly ", want her to go running with us?" The girl, Polly, shook her head, giving Daphne the wide-eyes. "Hell no. I don't want to explain things to her like I had to do for you." Polly was another Clicker, she came two months after Amelia did. Daphne and Polly had always been close, ever since Daphne came up in the box a month after Polly. They looked queerly similar, too. "Yeah, well she looks fit enough to do it. I just don't trust her." Amelia gulped down her food before scooping up another chunk of it.  
"I'd gladly take a look at her then." Myah snorted, glancing over to her fellow-intern Ellie. "Oh, shut it. I might just have to knock you all out. The poor thing must be petrified, you're not making it any better." Ellie sighed, playing with her food. "And I might just have to take dat food away from ya if you keep playin' with it, missy. Now eat up or I aint givin nout tommora." Sally passed by, collecting all the empty plates. "Oh, and Amelia, honey, Marnie told me to tell ya, she wants to see you after the bonfire. She'll be in her room." Sally went on, humming little tunes to herself. Amelia's friends laughed and poked her, knowing that she'd probably get told off for something. What had she done this time? "Ouch. The girlfriend." Izzy raised her eyebrows, taking a big gulp of Sally's spaghetti. Izzy worked in the gardens and often brought back flowers to the Inlands to brighten up the place. "God knows what I did wrong." Amelia shrugged it off, pushing her plate aside once finishing. "Oh, by the way. Happy birthday, Amelia. Two years! I'm next!" Beth smiled, throwing the jazz hands. A few whoops and sarcastic comments came from her mates, pats on the back, forks in the air. The whole package. In the Glade, the girls like to throw a good party. So, they host parties for 'birthdays'. The 'birthdays' were basically celebrations each year for what month you came up in. It was March of whatever year, Amelia's two-year-running anniversary. She shared it with another now, Rachel. "Fun innit?" Amelia laid back, her hands behind her head. They were having a massive bonfire to celebrate that night, as they did every birthday. But this time it was going to be better. Because it was the first birthday that Amelia had Marnie as her girlfriend._

* * *

 _Ellie was in the middle of talking to Izzy when the candles blew out and everyone went hushed. Beth let the alcohol dribble out of her mouth, slowly placing the bottle back onto the wooden table. Amelia knitted her eyebrows, if this was staged, it'd never happened before. The girls on her table stood, the scratch of wood against wood was practically painful. A flicker of light appeared in the corner of the room, lighting up two girls and a cake. They'd only ever had a cake once, when they found 'the end of the Maze', when in reality, all it was, was nothing. Sally and Lillie carried the cake as her table sung happy birthday to her, a few other people chiming in. Soon enough they got the whole canteen to bleed her ears. Lillie was sweet, extremely weird, but really sweet. She came two months before Rachel. She looked a bit too young to be in the Glade, about eleven to twelve. Amelia treated her like a little sister._

* * *

 _Once they'd finished singing, Lillie and Sally placed the cake in the middle of the table, urging her to blow the two candles out. She did as she was told, puffing my cheeks up and blowing both out in an instant. Whoops and cheers advanced, and Amelia couldn't help but smile. Lillie wrapped her arms around her from behind and jumped up onto Amelia's back. "Happy two-years!" She shouted in her ear, making her wince. "Did you do this?" Amelia asked Lillie over her shoulder. She nodded viciously, thrusting around. "Yeah. You bet your ass she did. I needed a lil' assistant and she fit the role perfectly. Lills decorated it and all" Sally whipped back, winking at the both of them. "Why did you do this? We've only ever had a cake once, and to be fair, it wasn't even that good." Amelia said in-between laughs. Sally rolled her eyes, putting her hands on her hips. "Gurl, I did this because you're my favorite Glader!" Sally slapped Amelia's shoulder, chuckling. "Ugh, just kidding. I hate ya guts," Amelia frowned in a joking manner ", we have enough ingredients for cakes now. So, don't think ya special. Everyone is gonna have a cake from now on." She side-hugged her, shaking both their body's. "I love you ya stick. Now cut cha cake." Amelia whipped out her trusty pocketknife, flipping it once. Sally stopped her hand just before the knife touched the cake. "Nuh-uh, honey. I aint lettin' ya cut my masterpiece with a dirty knife. I'll go get cha a real knife." She rolled her eyes, letting Sally rush from her arms. She huffed Lillie down, patting her head. Her hair, like always, was in a tight knot at the back of her head "you're getting heavy now, nub. You can't keep jumping on me like that". She ran off to talk to another Glader and Amelia's friends gathered around her, chatting mercilessly. Amelia wondered why Marnie wasn't there with her, why she wasn't hugging and kissing her. "Can't wait for the bonfire tonight!" Sonya smiled at Amelia before walking out of the canteen, supposedly going to see Harriet. A couple other people came to visit her before Sally returned. Billie, Cleo, Lizzy and Vic gave Amelia a tight hug before going out, also. "Here, girlfriend." Sally threw a knife at Amelia, brushing down her yellow apron-dress. It was a normal thing to do. Sally's kitchen knife sliced through the blue cake, randomly speckled with different sprinkles that Lillie put on. "I want the biggest piece!" Lillie jumped up and down on the chair next to her. "Wow! The biggest? Might as well give you the whole cake." She laughed, rubbing Lillie's back trying to slow her down. "Really? Please!" She giggled as Amelia made uneven cuts throughout it. "No, you schnick. Wait until your birthday." Sally passed out plates, wrapping her arm around Lillie's waist. "Honey, you're helping me clean up after this. We're using up so many plates." Lillie seemed surprisingly happy about washing the dishes and stepped down, running after Sally. "I got more alcohol!" Beth yelled, holding up bottles. "Ooh, cake!" She ran over, taking a slice for herself. "Ugh! If I could have this every day, I would." Daphne laughed, picking up two pieces for both her and Polly.  
"You'd be fat. No more running the Maze" Polly took the cake from her, also chuckling. "Hey, ho. I'd have cake." They took a seat across from Amelia, digging in. "Hey, Izzy, D'ya want any?" Amelia buzzed, holding a plate up. She was sitting with Ellie.  
"Oh, no. We don't want any. Thanks, though." She shrugged. Who doesn't want cake? "I'll take some, though" Myah chirped.  
"Greedy gobble gannet." Amelia laughed, Myah frowned, knitting her eyebrows.  
"What the actual fuck?" She tittered, snatching up a fork._

* * *

 **Amelia POV (So sorry for the number of switches)**

 _We finished up, stacking the plates for Sally and Lilly to wash. The seven of us headed out to the already-lit bonfire. It seemed most of the girls from the Glade were there, drinking. Even Harriet was seated, laughing with Sonya, Angela and Joe. Vic waved us over, along with Lizzy, Billie and Cleo. Cleo was reading on the log behind them, slightly smiling when she heard a joke in the real world she found funny, Lizzie looking over her to read the pages with her. "Hey, birthday girl," Vic smiled ", I got you a drink. We're getting wasted tonight, no doubt about that." Billie clapped at Vic's statement, chugging her own drink. I took the alcohol, not necessarily wanting to 'get wasted'. Billie and Vic were the minxes of the Glade. They were always causing trouble. And, when they could get drunk, they would. Whereas, Cloe and Lizzy were very preserved and smart, Lizzy often correcting Gladers grammar whilst Cleo stays quiet in a corner, usually reading. The four of them, though, make an immensely great team. I just stuck to my pack of eight, normally. With Sally, Beth, Polly, Daphne, Izzy, Ellie, Myah and Lillie. I glanced over to the four girls Harriet, Sonya, Angela and Joe. They were the 'play by the rule' girls, along with Marnie. But, she wasn't there and I had no idea why.  
They were all probably drinking tap water, knowing them._

* * *

 _I sat down, my friends shortly following me. They all started bickering immediately. I just sipped the alcohol, having no clue where it came from. It was probably just another prank they were pulling. I noticed that Beth had given out shots and got everyone to down it at the same time.  
And she didn't stop there. She persuaded girls to do it many times, including me._

* * *

 _Eventually, we were all hammered, unintentionally. Harriet called everything off, sending us all up to our bedrooms, enraged at our slurs. "All of you. Bed, now. I don't want to hear a peep out of anya you. You hear me?" We tried to hush ourselves, which was desperately difficult when you were drunk. "Oh, and happy birthday Amelia!" Everyone cheered at that before slugging their way to the inlands. I was the happiest I'd been at that moment, with each of my friends, laughing at absolutely nothing, all our arms on each other's shoulders. Sonya walked with us, too, as Harriet and Joe talked to Rachel. I hadn't even noticed her the whole evening._

* * *

 _I climbed up the stairs to mine and Marnie's room, tripping and falling at least twice, banging my head on the door. Marnie opened it, catching me once I tumbled in. "Steady there, chief. What's wrong with you?" She asked, planting a small kiss on my chin. "Marn," I giggled, finding it hard to talk ", I'm so sorry. I'm reaallyy drunk. Blame Beth and Vic." She rolled her eyes, pulling me into the room and slamming me into the chair next to the mirror. "You're going to drink water until you're sober. I wanted to do something special tonight. And, there's no point if you won't remember it anyway." She threw me multiple water bottles, sagging back on her hammock. "You're the best girlfriend in the world." I threw my arms up, dropping the bottles. I made an 'O' shape with my mouth and picked them all back up, struggling to unscrew the lid on the first one. I chucked it to Marnie, saying 'catch' after It had landed beside her. "Can't unscrew it." I said, kicking my legs, whining. Marnie stood up, crouching next to me and brushing the hair out of my face. "You're such a baby. Seriously, do I have to teach you how to use the toilet now, too?" She opened it effortlessly, carefully passing it to me. I drank it, nodding. Causing a mass of water to stream down my chin. "Lia, I was joking." She brushed the water off my lap and 'ughed' at me. I held the water in my mouth for a second or two before swallowing, staring at her the whole time. "I wasn't." She unscrewed the other for me. "Marn you're so beautiful, do you know that?"  
"Yes." She paused, grabbing a brush and running it through my hair. "Now drink, you silly bean."  
And I did just that._

* * *

" _Alright. I'm hardly pissed anymore. Although, I really to need to take a piss. But that's beside the point. What did you want to do for me?" I asked impatiently. I was still quite drunk but I forced myself not to sound it. It was now the early hours of the morning. Or even late hours of the morning. God knew._

* * *

 _She took my hand, guiding me over to the foot of the bed and pressing her lips to mine. It started soft at first but as I kissed back, she got more playful, slipping her hands through my hair, exploring my mouth. I wrapped my arms around her waist, she hung hers around my neck. I had to pull apart for breaths every now and again. "I would expect a Clicker to need less oxygen" she said, giggling into me. She fondled with my jumper as we kissed so I chucked it off and let hers slide too. Marnie pushed me down onto the bed, falling on top of me after I'd landed, caressing my cheek. "I love you." She whispered in my ear, biting it, before realizing what she had just said and pulling back from me, holding her head in her hands. "Oh no. Oh god no. Nope, nope, nope." She looked up at me, a full amount of worry in her eyes. I giggled at her, pulling her back onto me. "Marn, it's okay. I love you too." She simpered, hugging me intensely before resuming our intimate session._

 _Marnie rubbed the hem of my shirt, an indication that she wanted it off. I pushed her back, ready to throw it across the room, when-_

" _Guys. There's someone coming up." Beth, dammit. "Oh- ew. Sorry, didn't know you guys were doing the nasty." I snickered, not understanding what she said completely. "What were you saying about someone coming up?" Marnie asked, jumping up and shoving her jumper back on, throwing me mine. "Well, the alarm is going off, it's being going for ten minutes now." She jumped from one foot to another, biting down on her lip. "Isn't it meant to come only once a month?" I asked her, rubbing my hand through my hair. They both glared at me and then at each other, shaking their heads. "Oh, gee. I dunno." Beth rolled her eyes as Marnie grabbed me by the arm and dragged me out of the room, my jumper still over my head. "Marn, I can't see!" I tripped over the door stop, looking around stupidly. She pulled it down, clearly frustrated by me._

* * *

 _We ran out to the box in the middle of the Glade with puzzled looks on our faces. It was bright outside, almost too bright. Everyone was gathered around the lid of the box, waiting patiently there for it to open. Lillie looked anxiously at me, even Sally was out of the kitchen, her arm around the little girl. "What do you think it is?" Ellie asked me, tucking her hair behind her ears. I shrugged, turning to face her. "Maybe a Newbie, maybe a map out of here because whoever they are probably got bored of us trying so hard, yet failing." Daphne laughed with her arms folded, walking over to us, Polly following shortly after. "Might be some more supplies, Izzy told me we were running out of carrots." Polly frowned, kicking at a loose stone in the ground. "Yeah. Carrots are mandatory." I joked whilst biting down on the sleeve of my sweater.  
"Gotta wait and see." Daphne winked, starting back over to the edge of the box. "I'm quite scared." Ellie pulled closer to me "This have never happened before. I don't want things to change." I tugged her in to a tight hug, I couldn't have my friend being scared. "It's gonna be okay, don't worry about it. As long as we're all living." She gleamed up at me, rubbing my back.  
"As long as we're all living." She repeated, ripping apart. I followed behind her to where everyone else stood. "Amelia," Lillie ushered her over to a tree stump behind the Gladers ", Sally talked to Harriet and asked her if I could help cook! And she said yes! Now I don't have to be a Plodder!" She jumped up and down, but stopped after the 'truth' dawned on her. "But, I guess I won't get a chance to do it since it's the end of the world and all." She frowned, tugging at the bottom of her dress. I crouched to her eye-level and grasped her shoulders in a tight lock.  
"What the schnick are you talkin' about?" I tried to hold back my laughs but failed, miserably. I spirted and sat down, pulling her with me. "Well… you know. The box and stuff, shouldn't it only come once every month? I overheard Joe and Angela talking, they were saying that it wasn't normal. That means the end of the world, right?" Lillie rubbed her eyes with her clean sleeve, transferring the dirt from her face onto her grey dress. "Lillie, if everything that wasn't normal happened to be the end of the world, we would be long gone. I don't know what's going on in your little brain, but lemme tell you, it's nothing smart." She blinked at me, once. Twice, looking at me with an open mouth. "Okay." Lillie eventually sung, dragging me up and skipping back over the lid, her hand in mine the whole time._

* * *

 _Something made me think that all this was Rachel's fault. No one had ever wanted to be a runner the moment they were told about it apart from me. But that's only because I didn't know the dangers of it. Harriet was half-way through the tour this morning when the alarms started, Lizzy told me. She'd just gotten to see the Grievers before they went off. Probably didn't want to run the Maze after that sight. Thank god. The lift should've been getting close to the top, it had been twenty minutes since I rushed out with my jumper over my head. Sally had snatched up some leftovers from the night before and handed it out to the girls that needed something to bite on. Some Gladers were going berserk. I wanted to scream at most of them, they were all used to everything running smoothly. Once something went wrong they went out of control. The girls needed to learn that when a slip-up happens, it can always be worked with._

* * *

 _There was a cluck and a snap, forcing some girls to jump back. Harriet was standing, holding most of the Gladers, with Marnie, ajar.  
I pushed to the front, Lillie's dainty fingers wrapped around mine. I now stood at the front, Harriet nodding at me and a few others, urging us to come to the front and help to keep control. "Alright everyone, calm down," Angela shouted ", calm down! I know this isn't meant to happen but we can't control this! Just stay calm and let us deal with it. There's no point crowding around, it might be something dangerous." I heaved Lillie to the front, too, not wanting to lose her in the crowd somewhere. I tossed her onto my back and she hung her arms around my neck listlessly. "Listen, we will tell you if it's anything important!" Joe shouted over the immense clicking of the lift sliding open. "We just don't want you to get hurt!" I kicked everyone back, Lillie shouting insults over my shoulder. Most of them had left by then, only a few limped around. "That's ma girl." I said whilst giving her a pat on the hand. Sonya jumped in the lift as soon as she had a chance, getting to see what was in there before any of us could. The rest of us were still trying to calm the stampede. But, it all went silent when Sonya mumbled "holy shit…"_

* * *

" _What's wrong?" What is it?" Harriet asked, not turning around. I heard a gasp from Lillie who'd turned on my back. "'it' is a… a boy?" I swiveled around at this, getting as close to the edge as I could. I was unable to spurt out any words when I saw a teenage boy- around fifteen, in the lift, positioned awkwardly. "WHAT?" Harriet screeched, looping on her toes.  
"Hole-it." I whispered.  
"Can't be." Angela cried.  
"Amelia!" Lillie clutched me tighter.  
"Those sticks." Joe clenched her fists.  
"I don't- It can't…" Marnie fumbled for words, linking her arms in mine, nervously. "And that's not the last of it, I think he's dead." Sonya sunk to the floor, Harriet jumping down to look. "Hold them off. We need to deal with this" She held up a finger to all of us above, 'them' meaning the rowdy crowd. Daphne and Polly joined us, being a little more aggressive with the girls, pushing and kicking them back. Yelling at a few people._

* * *

 _Rachel stood alone on the opposite side of the lift, glaring down at the boy. It emerged on me that Rachel came the day before- she might have some memory of the boy. She might know him. "You!" I stormed over to her and pushed her back intimidatingly. She didn't say anything. "Do you know this boy?" Nothing. "Well, out with it, plod. Do you know him?" She shrugged solely, finally connecting her eyes with mine. "I- no. No I don't. I have no idea who he is." I could tell she was lying. Well, to a certain extent.  
"Don't lie to me, girl. Do you have the faintest sliver of knowingness of who this kid is?" She unclicked her eyes from mine and back to the boy's face.  
"I don't know! Deep down, yes, I feel a connection. Like, obviously. He came a day after me. And, he's the first boy. There's going to be an overt linkage, but I can't pin it. Trust me on that. I don't know who he is!" And I did trust her. There was something in her grey, monotone eyes that told me she was telling the truth. "I believe you. It'd be best you talked to Harriet." I said, much softer now. I placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her to where Harriet was hiding away with Sonya. "Harr-" I started, but never finished._

* * *

 _The boys gasped, opening him mouth, panting viciously. Sonya threw her head back in shock, Harriet didn't flinch. "What is it boy? Spit it out!" Harriet kicked him in the side. I couldn't tell if it was gentle or not. The boy opened his mouth to speak, trying to force something out but struggling to do so.  
But finally, he blurted it out-_

* * *

 **231.12.4 | 5:45 P.M.**

"Amelia"  
"Clint! Jeff! She's waking up!"  
"Alright, alright don't gather around her, shoo!"  
There was a shuffling of feet and a closing of a door. A hand slipped onto my forehead. A warm hand. "Hey, you okay?" I could just about open my mouth to say something obnoxious like 'good, how was your day?' but I couldn't let it out. A little snigger came from the boy that was caring for me. "Okay. I'll wait until you're fully awake for me to talk to you." Probably the best, and normal thing to do.

* * *

I don't know how long I was lying in-between consciousness. But the expression on Jeff's face told me that it had been quite a while. He was sitting to the side of me on a small stool. "Finally," he whispered, picking some device up from the table. "Hey buddy. You good?" I asked, my voice raspy and dry. "Oh, no! I feel awful." I was glad he played along, I needed something to smile at. My eyes drooped, I felt too weak to keep them open for a long period. "No. Can't let you close your eyes again until you're fully awake. Last time I did that, you slept for two days." I hung my mouth open, forcing my eyes to do the same. I don't think I've ever slept for over five hours, let alone two days. "Two days? Two full days? Nope. You're lying. Tell the truth." I crossed my arms. No matter how many times I coughed, my voice wouldn't stop shaking. He laughed again, sliding over to the bed to look at my cut. "I'm not one to lie. Can I look?" I sat up, pushing every aching muscle in my body. I slid my leg up on the bed, pulling back the long, blue robe I had on. "No" I joked. He held my foot up, examining the wound. "How's it lookin'?" I rested my arms behind me to hold me upright. "Well, we took the thorn out." He leant back and picked up the thorn from the table to show me. "It was quite big. You're cut isn't wide. In fact, it's very thin. But it's extremely deep. You lost a lot of blood, that made you pass out. Should've listened to us, girlie." I frowned and crossed my arms.  
"I follow myself and what I want to do." I nodded, him fiddling around with my foot and rusty medical equipment. "How much longer do I have to stay here? Like a couple of hours? Or…" I trailed off, waiting for his response. Again, he chuckled at me and shook his head. "You claim you know a lot. No, you gotta stay in here for another two days." Two more days? _Two_? That was so unfair! I was meant to start running in that space of time. "Sorry. That can't happen. Can I not even go outside?" Whining, I kicked myself back, preventing Jeff from looking at my foot any further. He threw the covers back over me and tossed his eyes to the door, quavering his head. "No, you can't walk anywhere. You can try, but I assure you it won't work out" I nodded, bucking my legs off the bed again. If I could _run_ with the thorn inside me, I was sure I could _walk_ with _no_ thorn in my foot. I held onto the cabinet as I steadied myself upright, balancing on the leg I was stable on. Surprised by myself, I slowly placed my scabbed foot on the planked ground, attempting not to wince at the sharp pain. "You okay?" He asked, reaching out to balance my arm ere me slapping it out of the way. "Sorry," I smiled and took his hand to place it on my arm, "instinct reaction." I stuck out my healthy foot first so that I didn't have to put my weight on the pained one. I promptly stood on one leg and pointed out my disturbed foot, slowly lowering it to the floor. I bit the inside of my cheeks, wondering how I was able to run with the blooming thing inside me. "Bloody hell." I exhaled, tensing up. I felt his grip harden on me, and, without words he pushed me onwards. "I'm gonna try make it to the door, okay?" I breathed. Feeling him nod, I continued to the door, using the same technique. Two legs. One leg. Two legs. One leg. Two legs. It did hurt, but it got better as I went along. Although, Jeff was right. There was no way I would be able to run like that. I touched the door and felt a sense of victory rising inside me. "You did it." He sighed and let go, frowning. "But, now you have to get back." We really didn't think about that. It took too long for me to get to one corner of the room. "Awe man. I can't be bothered!" I slammed my head against the wall in distress, reaching out my arm for him to take it again. He shook his head and pushed my arm back. "Nope. You're doing it by yourself this time. I know you can do it." Huffing, I began walking back to the bed an inch at a time. The door flew open mid-step which threw me off guard a little, almost toppling me over, but I ended up keeping my balance. Thinking it'd be one of the Med-Jacks, I continued. Jeff and the other kid whispered behind me, I couldn't hark up any of it and I didn't want to either. Once in a while I would gasp at the random shocks of pain. The boys stopped chatting for a moment and there was a severe dragging of a chair, alongside more talking.

* * *

After I'd walked half-way across the room, heavy feet passed the floor, standing close behind me, I began to swirl around but, with my foot I wasn't able to do it quick enough. I heard a sharp 'no' from Jeff before I was lifted off my feet and into the air. I was so stunned that I didn't have the breath to make a noise. Having no clue who it was didn't make it any better. I endured twirls and throws, along with the shouts of a distressed Jeff that filled the room. I couldn't help but giggle, it was like being on a roller-coaster. I think.

* * *

I stuck my arms out leadenly, kicking whoever it was where ever I could hit. "No, no, no. Ouch. Stop." It was Minho. Smiling in victory, I was thrust down back onto my bed. "You got me in the buggin' cheek! You wouldn't want to ruin this beautiful specimen?!" I advanced my giggle into a laugh, tucking my legs back to the covers. "I'm just surprised you know the word 'specimen'." He strode over to the end of my bed and flipped the blanket up. "Alright," he sighed, "which one is it." I frowned "your bad foot, which one is it?" I spluttered, drawing my legs up higher. "The third one!" I yelled, almost crying of laughter. "What?"  
"The third leg! The thir-"  
I broke off as soon as he reached for the cover and threw it on the ground, stretching towards my legs. I tried my best to kick him away but he wouldn't budge. And, I was just giving him an advantage. He then had both of my legs in both of his hands, giving me a hint of a smirk before squeezing as hard as he could. I tried to throw him off, I _tried_. But, he was too stubborn and wouldn't let go. I bit my lip so stiffly, I thought it was going to bleed. Both tears of laughter and pain welled in my eyes. "Jeff!" I heaved, flailing my arms. "Get Clint! Get Clint!" I sat up and attempted to slap Minho's hands away from my feet. He'd then figured which foot was injured, releasing my other one. "Please Minho! Ouch!" I winced as Jeff ran out of the room, shouting for Clint. "Why'd you go and tell on me? You shank." He dropped my foot and dragged Jeff's stool over to where I sat. "Fite me!" I held up my fists and limply punched the air. He chuckled, flicking back his gravity-defying-hair. "So, I guess your trials aren't going to be for a while then." He sarcastically frowned, me mirroring him. "Hey, I really just wanted to say thanks for helping me out with the aftermath of the race." His face drooped, suddenly going serious. I was about to answer with something arrogant when I _remembered_ that we were meant to _forget_ about the race. "What race?" I replied, sitting up and shuffling to face him. The smirk that crossed his face only grew wider, bouncing on his seat as he slapped my shoulder. "That was a test, you passed. Well done." I shrugged, budging his hand off me.

* * *

"Alright, Minho. Out." Clint strolled in, patting Jeff on the back. He kicked Minho out of the seat and sat on it himself. "Awe, why?" He whined, thrusting his hands into his pockets and wandering towards the door. "Because you've been in here too many times" I couldn't help but cackle at the fact he'd been to see me whilst I was in a dreamless-sleep. "Alby will know about this. You could've caused harm to Amelia and we can't have that." It wasn't Minho he had to worry about, it was me. I wasn't stable enough to _not_ injure myself. All the more reason to be a Runner. Minho closed the door and clumped down the stairs, muffled words were aimed at another boy as he walked.

"Right, you can go ahead and sleep now."

* * *

 **Hello Beans!**

 **Thank you for reading :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter. This came out earlier than it was supposed to but I hope that's okay.  
O! I have done a thing:  
. /pollymeesesimps/maze-runner-fanfic-characters/  
It's pretty much a collection of pictures based on what I think the characters look like. I don't know why I decided to do this but I did. Don't feel pressure to look at it, if you already have a vision on what you think they look like, don't let it slide. I will be adding more to the list in the future so the folder will always be up-to-date.  
(I also have a maze runner memes folder because I'm relatable)  
Thank you Listlessleep for posting a bunch of ship names on the last chapter XD They made me giggle! And yes, all the chapters will be close to ten thousand words.  
Wattpad:  
** **439928543-running-for-reason-cake  
** **And, as always, have a good day!**

 **(Hello, you made it to the not-so-secret secret area! Just a little side-note, I will be gone for a week because I'm on holiday! But as soon as I gain back internet, the next chapter will be uploaded and I'm planning to do a lot more writing over the six week holidays. Also, In two weeks time, around August first, it will be an editing week. I edit all of the past chapters to add small details that may or may not be important in the future. Rightio, thanks for understanding and the support! Bye sticks!)**


	5. Forgotten Apologies

**'I'm sorry I fucked up. I'm sorry I can't fix it.'  
\- Steve Masaboli**

* * *

 **232.1.2 | 5:34 A.M.**

" _Rachel!" The boy took a deep breath of air to top off his lungs, then falling back once again, and sealing his eyes. Why did I trust her? What went through my mind to think she was telling the truth? She definitely knew the kid and I wasn't going to stop interrogating her until I found out about who he was. "Hey! Wait!" Harriet kicked him, again, slapping the boy on the face a few seconds after. He wasn't coming back for a while, if, at all. "Myah, Miyoko! Get him to the Ship and see what you can do." The two girls bowed their head at Harriet, then each other, hopping down into the lift and elevating the boy off his back whilst I stormed over to Rachel. I looked her dead in the eye, something I never do. She looked me back and it was visible that she tried to push down her worry. "You lied." I stated calmly, folding my arms. When she didn't say anything back, I opened my mouth to talk to her again, but-_

 _"There's a note!" Sonya shouted, pulling herself up and running over to where the Interns had been carrying his supple body. She stumbled over, landing on the ground next to it before anyone else could. The paper was scrunched up in a tight ball, ink splodges concealed it. Sonya unraveled it as Harriet, herself, had crawled out of the box, now standing over Sonya's shoulder to read it. They paused for a moment, not breathing, not moving. They did nothing. The crowd of girls were still fighting to see the teenage boy, some of them wandering over to read the note. And we fought them back, Lillie on my shoulder the whole time. Marnie had joined them, too, crouching next to Sonya and doing the same as them- nothing. "What does it say?" Angela asked, kicking some poor girl in the stomach. Marnie took a deep breath but stopped herself before she said anything. "Shush you fucking nubs! I want to hear what she's saying!" Lillie yelled over me, scrunching her fist into a tight ball. She prodded my back, hinting for me to drop her. I did so, letting her run around as she put everyone in order. We were losing people by the minute, Joe and Angela had gone to read it, as were Polly and Daphne. Rachel had snuck behind them, too. Her eyes darting between the words, frowning slightly._

" _Oh, just shut up!" I yelled, throwing down my backpack and clenching my fists. Only, not in the cute way Lillie did. Everyone went quiet, conversations still lightly continuing. "Listen to the damn things they're trying or want to say! You are all making it impossible for us to get through this. Yes, it's your business just as it is ours. But, you're showing us that you can't act sensibly about this situation. Therefore, we wouldn't trust you with information that may be on that sheet. Would we? No. I, as many others, think that Harriet and Marnie should read it first, as they are our Leaders. Do you think you're not going to get told what is happening? Even worse, do you think we know? Because we don't. Now be quiet, all of you. I don't want to hear one word out of your sluggin' mouths. Not before they read it, and not after. We will deal with it on our own and once it has been dealt with, then you'll know along with me and the other Gladers. But for now, Marnie and Harriet." I paused, flickering my eyes between each of the girls "sticks" I proceeded to add. They were silent. Good.  
"Thanks." Harriet tried to smile at me, not looking up or moving an inch of her body. Joe, Angela and the others took a few steps back from where Marnie and Harriet were seated. Marnie, once again, opening her mouth to speak. It hung open for a while, the start of some words forming, then falling. Finally, she stumbled it out._

"' _He's the last one. Ever"_

* * *

I reposed

* * *

 **230.1.3 | 12.13 P.M.**

 _I knew what I was going to do and no one was going to stop me._

* * *

 _I'd been in the Glade for three days now. And nothing had happened. It was boring. Marnie was always reading and if not, she was with that girl Harriet that hadn't talked to me since my first day. Good Leader she was._

* * *

 _I met a couple other girls whilst in the Glade. Myah and Miyoko were the Interns. That's what they called the people that helped the injured. Like medics, doctors. They were sweet and they didn't have much time on their hands so I was able to hang out with them quite a lot. I also met that Victoria girl that came one month before me. She was… different. Edgy, perhaps. She told me to call her Vic, because she didn't like Victoria. She said it sounded too 'girlie'.  
I met a girl named Sally, Sonya, Angela and Joe, too. The others I didn't want to talk to. They didn't seem very nice._

* * *

 _But, everyone had jobs apart from me. And, Marnie told me that I wouldn't be tested for a job, just put in the one that needed me the most. It made sense, a lot of girls died in the Maze and the jobs were almost empty. But I still wanted a voice and freedom. Although there wasn't a job for going into the Maze, I wanted to do it. There was only one person I could trust enough to tell.  
Marnie._

* * *

 _I would tell her when she got back from the farming that afternoon. I'd sneak into her room and tell her that I was going to venture the Maze. Though, she did say that the doors closed at 7pm. So, it wouldn't be very wise to go later that day. I concluded it would be better to go find Marnie then, to tell her that I was going to the Maze, to run the Maze._

* * *

 _I sprinted over to the fenced off farms. Marnie was, as I predicted, helping others hoe the land. "Hey Lia!" She waved at me, her smile beaming. I awkwardly waved back, shuffling my feet. I wandered over to where she stood, her, waiting for me to start a conversation. I opened the new wooden gate, careful not to get the white paint on my clothes. Without saying a word, I beckoned her out of the farming land, to talk to her at the edge of the forest. Marnie didn't say anything, just followed me, frowning all the while. "What's up?" She leant on a tree once we got there and took off her shoe, turning upside-down to release the encaged dirt and rocks. "Um- Marn, I want to choose my job. I don't want to be anything else other than one thing." Marnie slipped her shoe back on to her foot as I bowed my head, almost as if I was ashamed of myself and what I wanted to do. "Alright. I'm sure Harriet would be nice enough to let you choose the job you want. We can sort all the other Newbies after that into different jobs. But if you're set on nailing something, go ahead. Hope, right? What is it that you want to do?" I picked at my nails and skin around them, something I seemed to do when I was determined or concentrated. "I want to go in the Maze."  
She just looked at me in horror._

* * *

 _I didn't care. I didn't care about her and what she thought, I didn't care about Harriet's stupid rules. Fuck the rules. I was going to do what I wanted to. Before Marnie could stop me, I'd already sprinted off heading to the nearest door. There would be no way she could have the guts to go in there after me. I wanted to find out what killed all those girls, why so many of them died. Gaining on the West Door, I glanced over my shoulder only to see Marnie a while behind me, still running, though. "ARE YOU CRAZY?" She yelled at me, not in an angry way. Just to make sure I could hear. "PAST GONE" I shouted back, giving her a thumbs-up as I finally began the Mazes' entrance. As I suspected, Marnie went as far as the grass-meets-cobble line. I kept going, no matter how alone I'd be. "You don't want to do this" she gasped, gripping her waist. Clearly cramping. "And you don't know what I want. What I need." And with that, I sprinted to the right._

* * *

 _I wasn't as doltish to not mark down where I was going, I'd clutched some papers from Marnie's room the night before. So, I marked down which way I was turning at what point, making it able to find my way back. I established that it would be easier to chop the vines hanging from the walls, like bread crumbs. If I didn't get thrown in the prison, I would go back into the Maze and bring a knife. Since Marnie told me that the doors closed at 7pm I obtained it would seemingly be best to head back when the sky turned grey. Whatever the thing was that killed all those girls, it obviously came out at night as I hadn't seen anything. Heading back, I realized I didn't want to. I liked it in the Maze. It gave my brain something to think about, something to solve. When I wasn't doing anything, I felt somewhat lost._

* * *

 _Fortunately, I made all the right turns and found myself back in the wide corridor I'd ventured down on my first night. I didn't stop when I saw the 'Gladers' (as Marnie called them) standing around the gate, cheering. Most of them I didn't know. Harriet, who'd become the natural leader, was beaming at me, reaching out a hand for me to take once I got back to the Glade. Twenty seconds later, I reached the grass and took her hand, not expecting her to pull me into a tight hug. "Hey, Tyro. Scared the shit outta me." I laughed into her and shrugged my shoulders, patting her on the back. "Can I go back in there tomorrow?" She didn't reply, just frowned. I took it as a no and pulled apart, steaming and starting to walk away, heading towards the inlands. Tough. I was going in there tomorrow and she couldn't stop me. "Wait! Newbie! We need to get you equipped." Grinning the world, I turned back and ran along with Harriet to get 'equipped' for the next day in the Maze._

* * *

I sank deeper

* * *

 **232.1.13 | 7.52 A.M.**

" _Hey, Amelia, what are those things, those papers in the wall?" I took Rachel out for her fifth day running, but she wouldn't shut up. You'd think all her questions would've been answered by now. But nope. She was an infinite generator of askings. "They are everywhere. I've memorized them, I've looked at them so much. 'World in Catastrophe Killzone Experiment Department.'" I gave in a snobby, mocking voice. To which Rachel chuckled at. "They could mean something. Have you looked into it?" To be completely honest, everyone knew about them and no one cared. They were just there and meaningless to us. "Not really. I guess, yeah. But it kinda says what it says and there's nothing to think about." I spoke the truth, it was a big deal when I first found it, but after a week me and Harriet gave up, along with the other Gladers._

* * *

 _We continued running for around a mile and a half, before we took our lunch break. Which, I wanted to make short since both me and Marnie didn't want me in the Maze on my day off. We chatted for a bit, something about sharks and tangerines, then she brought up the cards again. "Maybe they could be the code out of here?" Stupid. Just stupid.  
"Hi, my name's Amelia. Oh, here's a riddle. What's my name?" I teased, "It's not going to be that obvious, schnick. The people that put us here want to give us a challenge, not just plonk us in a huge Maze and then give us the answer for laughs and giggles. Nope, nope, nope." Instead of giving up, she continued. I admired her persistence, but in the moment, it was getting annoying. "I don't see why it shouldn't mean anything. It's there. Everything has a purpose." Sure, everything has a purpose. But some purposes aren't purposeful. "Look into it all you want, ol' buddy, ol' pal. Promise you it don't mean plod. Seriously, it says what it has to say. End of." I knew I was being annoying, but so was she and neither of us could deny that._

* * *

 _We got back to running after our continuation of random blurts at our lunch break, the two of us not talking much as there was nothing to talk about. We turned right, right, left, right. Then took a break after, running another six miles deeper. Then, again, we took a break. Five thirty. It was time to start heading back, better to be early then late, even though I was always late. No more breaks, it wasted time. And, even though me and Rachel needed to rest, I pursued, forcing her to do the same. We winded our way back through the Maze, me taking Rachel a different, faster way from the one we ran that morning._

* * *

 _Half an hour later, it was six o'clock. One more hour to go. We could make this thirty minutes early, which was far too much. Harriet wouldn't be happy with me. I gave Rachel the job of mapping that day, to mark where we had gone. She had done it quite well; the wonky lines could've been improved. But she had only been running for a few days. Then again, she had been watching me map since she arrived at the Glade, I always let her watch me map, even doodle. She seemed so interested in it like no other Glader was. Rachel could be really sweet. But mostly annoying. A bit like Lillie.  
_

* * *

 _It was humorous watching her trip over her own feet, sometimes mine when I felt like it. She just slapped me on the back and we ran on, mocking each other as we went._

* * *

 _Since we had a while to spare, I allowed us to take a break and relax, bumping into Polly and Daphne as they headed back to the Glade because we went another way. We were able to stop them and have a chat.  
"Wassup? Find anything today?" Daphne puffed herself down on the wall opposite to us, joking around. We hadn't found anything since the cliff. "Yeah. A Griever came out and asked for a snog." I kidded, sticking my legs out to go on top of hers. She hated it when someone invaded her personal space. Daphne scowled, kicking her legs above mine. "Hot. Did you have a make-out session? I won't tell Marnie. Promise." Polly spat in her hand and flung it out to me, I slobbered on my own and we shook. "Yeah. I did. It wasn't the best, I think I'll go back to chicks. They dig me more. It will call me, though. Gave it my number." Rachel stayed silent, giggling at some comments we made. I realized that my friendship group was completely and utterly random, which is why a lot of people liked us._

* * *

" _Righto, slow pokes. Better get going then. Doors shut in twenty-five." Polly hopped up, dragging Daphne up with her. "You guys coming? Rachel?" Daphne asked as I stood with the other two, Rachel still sprawled on the floor. "Yeah. Oh- yeah. I'm coming." She looked as if she were dreaming, thinking about something so deeply she was separated from reality. If it was reality at all. "C'mon, sleepy head. Time to get some food from Sally and go to dreamland. You look like you need it." Rachel hooked onto my rough, torn hand, me heaving her up. "No, I'm just thinking." Is what she replied with. And, we all ran back. Laughing at the ignorance between us._

* * *

 _Through the gate and out past the grassy field we headed. I gave Marnie a quick peck on the check before I gathered with my friends by the ashed bonfire, ready to leave for the canteen. Lillie gave me a tight hug when I approached, as she always did once I had returned from the Maze, the others teasing me for various different reasons. And me, throwing the sarcastic insults back. Only better. And, we head on. Talking all the while._

* * *

 _The rest of the day, our lives, went on. None of us complaining, as it was how we lived. For me, my schedule was the same, every day. Awaken, eat, run, eat, get some shut-eye. And the cycle went on. The tedious, tedious cycle. The one that never seemed to fail me.  
We sat, munching on the pasta whilst talking to one and another. Sally bugged us to "hurry on," and, "get moving." So, nothing unusual. Zilch happened in the Glade, not one thing out of the ordinary ever happened, only on a few occasions when something went wrong was I able to take a break. After we ate, each of us helped to wash up. Something that we always had to do. If not, Sally would have sliced us to bits with those kitchen knives of hers. Unluckily for her, mine were sharper.  
But, to be fair, we did make a huge mess every time we ate. Never clean. Can't blame us, we were lazy teenage girls._

* * *

 _Surprisingly, no one had talked about the new Newbie, the boy pup. People got over the event pretty swiftly, weird. He was the first 'dude' (I technically called everyone 'dude', 'guys' or 'bros'. I don't think it really matters) yet not a lot of havoc was caused, unless you count the first two days where everyone went wild, such a riot. But now, it seemed as if everyone was chill. Maybe Harriet drugged 'em. Sounds like something she would have done if she possessed any. Poor thing, she probably would've gotten high herself. Accidentally.  
But, unfortunately, the creators refused my request for any kind._

* * *

 _There wasn't much entertainment that night, just two girls I didn't know all too well fighting, both were Plodders. So, inevitably, it wasn't very eventful. I'd been in those fights far too many times. Won most of 'em. Only lost one. Against Beth, it was. That's how we became so close, and also why I stopped._

* * *

 _After all that, Harriet called it off, congratulating the sweat covered girl that had won, the other one knocked-out, being attended to by Miyoko and Myah. And, then, we all started to bed. A normal day, over. Just as the next, just as the previous.  
Fun.  
Marnie was already sleeping, her body curled up into a tight ball when I attained our bedroom. Really no excitement today, then. Really, really boring. I didn't feel like waking her up, she looked like a perfect little goddess sleeping there. So, I dived on my own bed and didn't bother to get comfortable.  
But, eventually my eyelids drooped and sealed, leaving me to dream._

* * *

 _It was late when something or someone prodded my side. And for some reason, I knew exactly who it was. "Rachel, never ever wake me up. Never." I muffled into the pillow, rubbing the back of my neck.  
"It's important, really. I think I've got something." With that, I pushed up on my back, my hands behind me to hold me upright.  
"Say your speaking's, then" I grunted softly, making sure Marnie doesn't wake through all the chatting. She gave a broad smile and sat herself at the foot of my bed, and like me, cautious not to wake the sleeping girl. "Well, I've been thinking about that killzone thing-"  
"Oh lord Jesus." I hurled further up, squinting. Our door was wide open, leaving the main light to shine directly into my eyes. "Yeah, well. When we spent the night in the Maze, I noticed WICKED was written messily across the Grievers, in what looked like blood," She honestly should've noticed that sooner, and why was she telling me things I already knew? She paused, looking at me for a reaction. So, I gave her a prod. Just like she did to me. Rachel swatted me away like I was a fly and continued. ", made me wonder what WICKED was. Then, when I went to bed, my mind gandered back to that 'world in catastrophe' malarkey. It spells out WICKED, Amelia. It spells out WICKED." I viciously blinked the sleep dust out of my eyes. My mind was still not fully awake. "Hm? What spells WICKED?" My heavy head rolled back, the ceiling was beamed, only because the inlands wood was quite weak. I could hear Rachel whisper-talking but I wasn't listening, even though I had just asked her a question. "Amelia?!" She snapped, clicking her fingers in my face. "You're right, I should never wake you up early in the morning. Did you hear what I was just saying?" I slurred a 'no' and rolled my head back to face her. When I am sleepy it's almost as if I'm drunk. "Okay, let me repeat myself," she rolled her eyes ", World in Catastrophe Killzone Experiment Department. W-I-C-K-E-D. WICKED. Right? World in Catastrophe Killzone Experiment Department spells WICKED. Dude, if you're not getting this, you need some schooling." I stared blankly at her. I got it, but why was she making such a big deal about it? "A big breakthrough. Wow. That solved a lot. Okay, goodnight." I fell back again, thinking she was done. She didn't move to leave.  
"Okay, just listen you stick," I looked up at her, something I never did to anyone. I was taller than most of the girls in the Glade. ", You know that boy? The one that you got really mad and interrogated me about?"  
"Yeah, you could have just left it at boy. I would've guessed." I retorted, beginning to sit back to her eye-level. "Okay. Well, on his arm it said 'WICKED is good', right? And, the 'department' aspect of it could mean that they are a whole company or a group of people, it's a job. Could it be possible that WICKED are the people that sent us here? They erased our memories and sent us here," I was speechless, because I knew she was right, "even worse, the 'world in catastrophe' doesn't sound amazing, it says everything we need to know. The world is in a horrific state- meaning… they wanted to maybe… save this generation? To recover us from whatever is outside this Maze?"  
"no, no, no, no, no. You're saying WICKED sent us here… t- to protect us? I mean. Smart. But no. Possible. But no. If they are-" I chortled ", they're not doing a very good job. Putting us in an insolvable Maze with scorpion-spider-robot-monster-aliens is a great idea. Way to go! Keepin' us safe every day. Why didn't they just put up an invisible barrier with no killer-machines?"  
"I don't know. But do you believe me? There's no other possible way- no other-"  
"Yes. I believe you." But I wasn't going to stop running.  
I was never going to stop running._

* * *

 **231.12.11 | 7:36 P.M.**

My vision was bizarrely clear when I woke up, didn't make a difference, though, as I could barely open my eyes. With my drooped eyelids, I could see Newt talking to Clint, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. Newt's vision darted to mine and quickly back, hushing Clint. The two boys stood up, Newt striding to the door and Clint sitting on the end of the bed. "You awake?" He wrapped his hand around my hidden leg and shook it. "Not until I have coffee" I mumbled back, trying not to sound too drunken. "Coffee?" He asked, frowning at me. Did they seriously not have coffee? I didn't know how I was going to live another day without coffee. "Never mind. I'm awake, yeah. What do you want?" Croaking, I cleared my voice and reached for the water by the side of the bed. "I don't want anything, Newt _wants_ to talk to you. Something important, he told me. And just so you know, I have no part in the decision. All him and Alby." I drank, my other hand rubbing my head. Clint stood up to leave, Newt holding the door open for him. "See ya later, shank" Newt patted Clint on the back as he exited. "Right, Green Bean," he took Clint's place on the bed, "I got some bad news and some good news. You ready?" He asked as if I was choosing my fate.  
"Yeah. I'm ready." I grunted still, the water did nothing for my throat. Whatever the bad news was, it couldn't be that bad.  
"Okay. So, as you know, you're the first girl in the Glade. Meaning, there might be more. But, there might not be more. Now, we don't want you to get hurt. And as you've shown us so far, it's kinda a bloody habit for you to do so. Me and Alby came to a mutual decision." He exhaled, not clicking his eyes with mine. "You're not going to be a runner. There's no way." He paused as if waiting to be interrupted. "I'm sure you understand. We can't have you doin' whatever you shucking want out in the Maze with Minho. That's not how it's going to bloody work. Lee, you're gonna work in the Gardens with me. Or, work with Frypan, maybe be a Med-jack." I made effort to drive myself up to sit next to him. But, I ended up falling back down on the bed. "No thanks." I took another sip of my water and glared at him, spiritually forcing him to look at me. "What do you mean 'no thanks'? It's not a bloody decision like picking what lollipop you want." Shrugging, I attempted to sit up again, succeeding that time. In my mind, it _was_ a choice that I could make and it _was_ just like picking a lollipop. I wanted to be a runner. "Yeah. That makes sense. Women can't make decisions, they don't have options. Their job is to make things look pretty, cook and care for people, right?" I said calmly, though a fire rose in me, I kept trying to stay composed. "No. That's not what I said-"  
"But it _is_ what you said. You told me to work in the Gardens, cook for the other Gladers and care for them. I want to be a runner Newt. No, I _need_ to be a runner. You wouldn't understand, it keeps me sane. _Please._ " I wanted to be civil with him, but when he refused, I couldn't hold it in. "I'm not a delicate little flower, you prick! I can fend for myself and I don't need you to do it for me. If I could cope the Maze in- t- the last time I ran it (whenever that was, I couldn't remember) without dying, then I'm sure I could deal with the same Maze again. You can't tell me what I can and can't do. Sure, I'm a girl and sure, I'm the only one. But, that shouldn't make a difference! I'm just as strong, just as smart and just as capable as any of the other boys. So, in retrospect, would it really matter if I died? No. It would be just like losing another Glader. I don't know why you want to keep me safe but if it's for reproduction, no. Just no. Besides that, I don't think there would be any other reason to 'protect' me. I need to help you lot get outta here. You can't say in here forever, you know that. You also know I could help you. Do you trust me?" I half-shouted. This time it was him that wasn't making eye contact. "No."  
I took off.

* * *

My foot was feeling better, thankfully. Meaning, I was able to get out of the room and down the stairs at almost-walking-speed. But that also meant that I had slept through another couple of days. Boys were walking around the corridor when I got down. Most of them didn't notice me, the ones who did, stared. I ignored them, pretended they were mere objects. I pushed both boys and the door to get outside and inhaled the clean air, it felt more than good to be outdoor. Thankfully, Newt hadn't followed me down the stairs and through the door. For that reason, I continued to slightly limp over to the forest type area they had. I needed time to think about… things. Everything. Like the runner shenanigans. What was that about? We had a deal, a bet. And I won. And then they were telling me I couldn't? An injured foot for absolutely nothing? Lunacy. And then there was my outburst. I didn't mean to, it just happened. I was reaching the edge of feeling bad for Newt. But, he _did_ take my ability to run away.

* * *

I stepped on twigs and rocks, not caring where I was going. Just away.  
At least I had paper.  
I hobbled straight through the river, getting my clothes and I soaked. Again, I didn't care one bit. I arrived at a corner of the Glade, so, I slid down into that and picked up a large twig, peeling the bark off it. I had to cut the Gladers some slack. They have never had a girl in their Glade before and then I miraculously arrived, knowing everything about the Glade. They are going to be sexist, obviously, and so was I. But, I can't be a Runner because I'm of the opposite sex? He needed a lecturing. I _was_ going to be a runner and no one was going to make that choice for me. Pulling out the papers Minho had given to me, I was going to start something new. But, ended up looking back at my pictures I'd drawn months ago, for all I knew it could've been months that I'd been asleep. I smiled at the picture of Marnie, still unfinished, but at least it was accurate. The next page, random names I had no memory of. The next, weird names and the next, stories. It had been a while since I had thought about the other Maze, the one that wasn't mine. It was hard to think about. _The one that wasn't mine_. Disturbing.

* * *

There were things I didn't understand on the sheets, things I wondered why I wrote down. Names I couldn't remember were splodged everywhere with what I assumed were job names next to them. And in that moment, it dawned on me.  
I was slowly forgetting the old Glade.

It didn't crush me as I expected it to do, I didn't cry. I knew it would happen eventually, _they_ aren't stupid. Whoever they were. I was sure we'd figured it out at one point, but I'd forgotten. Great. I didn't know who my best friends were in the old Glade, didn't know who I hated. The only people I could clearly remember were Marnie and Harriet. A few other faces sat themselves in the back of my head, they kept shuffling away in their seats whenever I reached for them. Although I couldn't remember the people or the landscape, I could still picture the Maze and where to go. Easy. I had a feeling that it was never going to leave me. It was a part of me.

* * *

"Hey." I shoved my papers away quickly, before the voice saw me with them. They hid in my back pocket, away from the world. Like I'd like to be. "Don't panic. It's only me. Comin' to say hi… and sorry." It was Chuck, stumbling over with two sandwiches in hand. "You don't need to apologize, buddy. I'm the one who needs to do that. Plus, you've got foot so quit the yappin'" Chuck grinned and sat next to me, throwing me the sandwich. He was younger than the others, that's what I needed, youth to lift my mood. "Newts talking to Alby 'bout you. I overheard em. Talkin' about you being a Runner." He munched down, as did I. "Who isn't talking about me? What were they saying?" I asked, my mouth full. In that moment, I was the most attractive I'd ever been. "Eh, something about Newt rethinking stuff. Alby was saying no to everything and Newt was almost begging. I heard 'Lee' and 'Not Forgive' but that was it. Then I saw you limping off over here, looking like Newt. So, I thought I'd say sorry and bring you food. It's the best way to anyone's heart. Sorry. By the way." I laughed, finishing off the crust and moving on to the second half. "Yeah. It's fine. You just visited me at the wrong time. I was in a mood with myself and everyone else." He nodded, also picking up another piece.  
"Friends then?" Chuck leant against the back wall with me, mowing on the food.  
"Friends." I gave him my hand, he took it and we continued eating in silence for the next five minutes, enjoying each other's presence.

* * *

"What were you doing before I got here? I can ask because we're friends." I decided to show him, it wouldn't do any harm. Handing him the pages of forgotten memories, I continued to pick at the twig. "It's just a doodle and some stories from my old Glade, nothing much. I'm running out of the papers though. So, I gotta steal some more from Newt or Minho. If Newt still wants to talk to me." I rubbed him on the head, trying not to make a big deal about the situation. I didn't even want to talk through the Newt thing, it just came up. "What do you mean? What happened with you and Newt?" He handed me back the papers "sweet drawings by the way." I nodded in thanks and proceeded with the thing I didn't want to converse about in the first place. "Well, it was just… ugh. I woke up and Clint talked to me for a bit. I didn't listen," Chuck snorted, "then Newt bickered to me about Running. He said I couldn't do it because I'm the only girl and they need to protect me. Then I told him that I was just like any other Glader. Well, I shouted, really. And, I left and came here. It's noting, honestly." He furrowed his eyebrows, dropping his hands on his lap. "It's not nothing, tell me about it. Be a girl for a moment and spill," He paused ", shank." He didn't sound comfortable using the Gladers slang, I hadn't said a word of it since I got there, I didn't want to, but it was a way of letting go. So, I promised myself I would start. "Yeah. I will. Shank." Smiling, I noticed the slang sounded much more comfortable coming from me than him. "No matter what, I'm gonna be a Runner. No one can take that from me. You know, Chuck," I pointed a finger to his chubby face, "I'm forgetting everything from my past Glade. I'm losing memory of the people, places, faces. But there's one thing I remember, buddy. One thing. You know what that is? The Maze. I remember everything about the Maze. That means I'm made for the Maze. If I could date the Maze, I would." I joked, leaning in so our shoulders lightly touched. "No one's stopping you." He snorted. I allowed him to rest his head on my shoulder. It was quite late as I had woken when the Maze gates had closed. "Let's host a wedding between me and the Maze. Will you be my maid of honor?" Chuck nodded, pretending to wipe away non-existent tears. "Never thought you'd ask." I wrapped one arm around his shoulder, beginning to get more comfortable. I didn't want to get up, to move, wishing I could stay there the entire evening. "The Grievers would be part of the deal too. If I marry the Maze, I marry the Grievers." It was interesting that both the boys and the girls used different terms for most of the things, but, some names stayed the same. Like Grievers, the Maze (that's self-explanatory), the Glade. Made me wonder if the terms were implanted in us. Chuck yawned, making me do the same. "You tired, bud?" I shook him, grinning and stretching my legs out to the front of me. "Yeah. By the looks of it, you are too." I couldn't deny it, even though I woke up three hours prior, I was shattered.

* * *

"I don't want to get up." I groaned, pulling my legs up but letting them flop when I couldn't be bothered to hold them there any longer.  
"Yeah, well. You have to sleep with Newt," he giggled, "like, not in that way. But in his room. That means you are gonna be forced to make amends. So, good luck. He pulled himself up, leaving me to be slouched alone. "Chuck. Help me up or else you won't hear the end of it. Be a gentleman!" I reached out my hand for him to take it. Instead, he kicked me in the other arm, knowing I'd have to get him back. "Ouch, _shuck_." I used the Gladers slang like it was a joke, when I really was trying to get used to it. I jumped up, sprinting after the boy that hopped over logs and puddles. "Hey, it worked! I got you up" Chuck panted when we reached the outskirts of the forest. I pulled him into a tight headlock, rubbing his messy hair down. "You could've just taken my hand, _egit_." We laughed and I released him, walking back to the homestead with smiling hearts and heartful smiles.

* * *

We said our goodbyes and we went to our rooms, his, with the rest of the Sloppers. And me, in Newts room. I wandered up the stairs, swaying from side to side. If any bystander saw me, they would think I was drunk. I pushed open the door gently, if Newt was asleep, I didn't want the doors creak to awaken him. However, he was not. I could see he was there earlier, for there were layered blankets on the ground and a spare pillow to the side. I flopped down, scanning the room. It was clean, probably cleaner than any room I might've had. I tugged the pillow over my face and kept it there, slowly drifting off to a happier place.

* * *

 **231.5.1 | 3:04 P.M.**

" _Tick-tock. Let's get moving." We'd just finished our lunch, then I got to chatting with the Tyro. Well, she was still the Tyro in my eyes, even though the new girl came today. Polly leant against the Maze walls impatiently, seconds away from lurching at the both of us. "Calm your mucker. We're coming." I stood up, grabbing Daphne by the arm to hurl her on two feet with me. Daphne was the 'Newbie', and it was her second week running with us, her last one. She only had a couple more days before she went off on her own._

* * *

 _We got going, me in front and Polly behind, making sure she didn't wander. It came to my attention that the two girls looked surprisingly similar, not exactly the same but somewhere close. We arrived at a split end of the Maze, I had to stop as I was sure I'd never seen the area before. I stuck my hand out behind me, meaning for Polly to give me the map. She handed it to me. And, as she was told, she'd drawn where we'd turned. Badly, but that didn't matter. I searched the page, the two girls standing either side of me. Even Daphne knew something was up, we'd come the same way every day for her trials and we'd never come across this path. "Here." Polly pointed at the corner we'd made the wrong turn. She was right, when we turned left we were supposed to go right. "Well, shall we go back or go adventuring?" When Daphne put it like that, I couldn't resist. I raised my eyebrows at her and she nodded, knowing exactly what I was thinking. I turned right, Daphne and Polly following close on my feet. I jogged, not ran, making sure Polly could mark down each turn. I wondered about how I had never found this section of the Maze, I thought there were only seven. But I guess there were eight._

* * *

 _We hit many dead ends, having to turn back and start another way. Until, we came to a wider corridor. Seeming like the one when you first enter the Maze. We slowed our jog into a walk, Daphne and Polly staying close. There was one more corner we needed to turn, one. There was one option. Left. So, we followed it. Since I was in front, I saw whatever we entailed first. And what was visible (or not visible) stopped me in my tracks. Something that rarely happened. There, hung nothing._

* * *

 _The two Clickers ran in to my back, almost toppling me and them over into a big heap. "What is_ _it_ _?" Polly trailed off at the 'it', lifting her head, Daphne doing the same. "Whoa" passed my lips in something less than a whisper. We naturally stood in a straight line, staring at the same thing. Emptiness. "Polly, have you got everything written and drawn?" Seeing her nod out of the corner of my eye, I stepped forwards, taking a deeper look at the blankness. "It could be dangerous. Don't go too far over the edge." Daphne touched me on the shoulder delicately, not enough to hold me back. "Okay. I won't. I just want to take a look." I crept up on the empty wall as if it was going to pounce on me. I had to hold on to the stone, staring at nothing made me feel nauseous. It seemed like the world ended, fell off into the sky. There must be something important to do with it or else why would it be there? "We should go back. It's getting late and we need to tell Harriet, she'll want to run out and see this in the morning. Come on." Polly tugged at my sleeve, doing the same with Daphne's. Shaking her off, I plodded ever so further to the edge, sticking my right foot over the cliff, making sure there wasn't an invisible path. Nope, just nothing. "Alright. Let's go, we want to make it back with this information." And we ran back, me now having Polly's sheet in hand, following her map. "What shall we do about this?" Daphne panted, sprinting at full speed. "I don't know. This makes no sense…"  
"I have an idea" I replied.  
"And what's that?" The two girls asked at the same time, not giving a reaction to the coincidence.  
"we're going to send someone down there."_

* * *

My head jerked to one side unnaturally, compelling me to snap to one side and yelp. "Oh, bloody hell. Sorry." My eyes shot open and up to the boy hovering over me. "It's nice to see you too, Newt." I grumbled, pushing up onto my elbows. He smiled and sat on his hammock after seeing I was okay. "Sorry that I kicked you in your face. Didn't mean to, forgot you were shuckin' here." Wearily, I flopped my head back down on the pillow, mumbling into the sheets. "Do you have anything else to apologize for?"  
"Sorry about the thing this afternoon, too. I talked to Alby, he said that it was my idea and it was a good one. He's going to let you run. But, if you're not good enough, the next best job will do." As if he'd heard me when I was talking to myself. I could manage a 'mhm' before slowly flipping my head to look at him, trying to hide the bright smirk on my face. "I guess I should be sorry too. But I'm not really. The things I said, I won't take back. But the way it was said, I must admit. It was harsh. So, I guess I'm sorry, too." How many apologies in one day? He looked satisfied with the answer and fell back, mimicking the position that I was in, only to face me. "Thanks, shank. You should become a Runner. I know you'd be good at it. Didn't mean to doubt you, I never did. But, ya'know, you're a girl. Our _first_ girl. I had no clue what to think but to keep you safe. It seemed smart. And, then I told Alby that it'd be the best for you to stay safe. But I realize that's not the bloody case. You know a lot and you could be our key outta here, after so many years." I brushed the tangled hair out of my face, I desperately needed a shower.  
"How long have you been in here?" I asked since I forgot how long it was that I was in the Maze for. "Two years, coming on three." That sounded about right.  
"How long has Minho been in the Glade?" Minho was the equivalent of me, meaning we must've been sent up at the same time. At least, I guessed. "Nearly the full two years, why do you ask?" I lay in an uncomfortable position, supporting myself on one elbow. So, I allowed myself to collapse. "Well- well. Newt, I'm sorta forgetting things about my old Glade. People, Names, Faces, Places. I was wondering since Minho is equal to me. I wanted to know how long I was in my past Glade for." He let out a weak 'oh' and sank deeper into his hammock, if that was possible. "What about the Maze? Maybe it isn't best for you to be a Runner if you can't remember the Maze." He could change his mind so quickly, be on one side for a while and then slide to another in an instant. "Good news. I can remember every detail about the Maze. Strange." Once again, I face-planted my 'bed' (many blankets piled on the ground). Newt didn't move from his spot, consisting his eyes on me. "Aren't you upset that you can't remember any of your friends? Losing all your memories?" Still dragging on the conversation. I lifted my head, not thinking about it deeply. Whenever I did, it made me go into dream-fest mode. I shrugged, not wanting to talk any longer. It's not that he wasn't nice to talk to, he woke me up. I couldn't tolerate that. "Night. Shank." And Newt rested on his back, his hands covering his stomach. "'Till tomorrow, shuck-face."

* * *

 **232.1.8 | 7:06 P.M.**

" _Well done." I gave Rachel a pat on the back as she beamed at herself, she had just been accepted to be a Clicker. And I would be teaching her for the first two weeks. Damn. "Thanks. One: for rooting for me, and two: trusting me. It seems not many people do. They think I'm a freak." We were sitting in the woods, just talking. I was placed there alone, until she came and disturbed my peace. "Understandable." I muttered, falling back against the tree behind me and took out a knife, cutting the grass around us. For fun. "You're quite scary, you always have some kind of weapon on you." She was forcing on the conversation, when we both knew it would be best for us to be quiet. "You never know what will happen. Gotta think in the moment, stick." Long plants fell around my feet, entwining with my toes. "What, so I'm going to pounce out at you, any second now? You're insane." I chuckled, knowing that is was possible.  
"The best people are." I handed her the knife, considering that it would be best for her to take one if she would be running the Maze. "You're not serious, right? You're handing me a knife. If Harriet found me with this, I don't know what she'd do." She took it anyway, carefully placing it in her back pocket.  
"Imagine what she would do if she found all mine. You'll need it in the Maze. Probably." Rachel flashed me an anxious look, pulling off her leather-jacket she hadn't taken off since she came up. "Here," she threw her jacket on the ground and nodded her head at it, "take it. I got your knife, you get my jacket." I frowned and twitched my head to one side, picking it up and laying it on my lap. "Fair trade." I joked, placing it to one side, the side closest to her. "Not gonna take this. I gave you one knife out of my collection and you lend me your jacket, your only jacket. Nope. Plus, it's yours." I sent her a disgusted face and she returned the look.  
"Hole-it." Rachel had recently started to get used to the Glader slang, it didn't sound as natural coming from her as it did other Newbies. But still pretty cute. "Put it on, it would look way cooler on you than it does on me."  
"But you wrote your name on it." She made her way over to me, shuffling on her knees and holding up the jacket, lifting it up and behind me. "So? Does it matter? It's just an item of clothing, that will look good on you." I didn't care if it would look good on me, if it kept me warm and covered me up enough to be acceptable, who cares?  
She hovered the leather-jacket over my body, waiting for me to let her know it was okay. "Go ahead" I sighed, sticking my arms out and letting her slide the tight, black thing over me. Rachel shimmied back to look at the 'masterpiece'. "You look bad-ass. Really cool. You're keeping it, no take-backs." I stood on my knees, too, giving her a sarcastic twirl and holding up my screened skirt. Rachel clapped as I sank to my knees. "Thanks. Hey, if you ever need any more knives, I'm your girl." We threw finger guns at each other, laughing. It was early in the morning, meaning very little people were up. Only a few wild-children like Billie, Beth and Vic wandered, causing trouble for everyone. "It really does look nice on you, honest. You look like you could kick my ass at any minute."  
"I can"  
"and I know."_

* * *

Silence. Everything was silent. Newts light breathing was the only sound that was tangible. He slept like an angel, but that angel had to fall because I was getting bored of watching him sleep. "Oi," I hissed ", Newt" Whispering-shouting, I threw my pillow at him. No reaction. "Dammit" I muttered to myself. The sun was starting to rise, causing a bright orange to rain over the Glade. Must've been early when I woke up. No wonder Newt was still sleeping. I go to bed late and wake up early, full of energy for the next run. I was a strange being.  
I heard a groan from Newt as he re-positioned himself to face me unintentionally. Someone was up and about outside the homestead. Minho, I guessed. Or maybe Alby. He was still being salty and wouldn't talk to me, ever since I kicked him he tried to say as fewer words to my face as humanly possible.

* * *

The groggy "good morning, love" that came a few minutes later startled me a little, causing me to let out a quiet yelp. He sounded like a monster that lived under a bridge, eating any child that dared to cross it. "Tally ho!" I sent back in a somewhat similar voice. It was supposed to be an impersonation. Although we both shared the same accent, British, he was a lot more profound. "Did I scare you? Sorry, forgot you were a girl," he gained my reaction ", just kidding. I really am sorry. I'm not Minho. And, I know. I'm an awful sight in the morning. Won't do it tomorrow." He was right, he was an awful sight. And not just in the morning.  
"There won't be another tomorrow if you keep talking like that. Have a good sleep?" I pushed myself up onto my knees and balanced there.  
"No. You kept snoring through the night. It was bloody ghastly. You sounded like a dying goose." He chuckled, as did I. Newts hair was a complete blond mess. But, mine was too. As is he could read my thoughts,  
"You look dreadful." He swung his legs off the bed and placed himself next to where I was sitting.  
"Nice way to woo a girl." I laughed, forgetting the bickering that took place the day before.  
"Can't blame me. Never talked to a girl before. Not from what I can remember anyway. Just trying out new techniques. You're my test subject. That one didn't work on you?" Though it was a joke, some part of me felt there was something true in it. Like he was trying to 'woo' me. For that reason, I couldn't persuade myself to look at him. "No, it really didn't. But maybe on other girls." I shrugged, my eyes flickered past his and back again.  
"How about this," he started in an-almost-whisper, "you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen-"  
"Literally only seen one."  
"I know, I know. From what I can remember, though. I've probably seen quite a few at home," _home_ ", and I can just tell you're the prettiest one," I forced myself not to blush as he cupped my cheek in his hand.  
", Your green eyes shine brighter than everything bright-"  
"Newt stop." I grasped his mouth with my hand and held it there, raising my eyebrows at him.  
"You done?" And he nodded slowly, not breaking his gaze. ", good. I'm going to take my hand away from your mouth. Then you're going to insult me to make up for all those compliments." He repeated his actions and I released my hand from his face gently, laying it on my lap. "di't work?" He murmured, tilting his head to one side. I frowned and shrugged, flicking at my nails. "Sure. Insults?" I asked, leaning in closer to his bed-worn face.  
"You're one ugly shank."  
"Perfect."

* * *

We proceeded to stare at each other for a very long time. Me, to make it less awkward for myself, turning it into a blinking competition. I leant into my cheek to get his hand off it and we sat there, looking at each other for the next couple of minutes.

* * *

"Am I running today?" I broke the silence, almost begging. Newt didn't react for a few seconds, like he was in a trance. Lost in my eyes. "No," Newt sighed, pulling himself away from me. ", no," he said again ", not today. No. You're testing out jobs today, seein' what you can do other than running, Am-"  
"Lee. It's Lee. And, not much," I interrupted, tucking a loose piece of hair behind my ears. He nodded and smiled. ", Here, if you want it to be special, only you can call me Lee. There. No Amy. Never Amy. Amy is a name for a pansycake." He laughed at my immaturity and rested his head against his hammocks frame. "Alright then. Lee. Lee is for me," he joked, "the others will have to deal with the struggle of calling you Am-ee-lee-aahh." He stretched out my name, making odd shapes with his mouth.  
"Sounds good to me, _shank_."  
" _pansycake_."

* * *

We got up and out hasty after that, joking and teasing each other. Back to the normal us. Grand. No more arguing, no more flirting. Just us.

* * *

"Morning Newt, Lee." A boy I didn't know nodded at us as we walked by, to the Med-jacks Shack for my trials. "Amelia, Ben. It's Amelia." Newt corrected the boy, him frowning in return. One thing I did know, I was going to fail most of these jobs, most probably all of them. Especially the Med-jacks, I could only _just_ take care of myself, let alone anybody else. "What about Lia?"  
"Hm?" I was deep in my own thoughts and hadn't heard what Newt had been rambling about for the last couple of minutes.  
"Why can't the other Gladers call you Lia? Like Ame-Lia? Saves you from saying the one syllable." My mind wandered back to Marnie, a place that it hadn't been in a while. That wasn't good. Not good at all. Thankfully, I hadn't forgotten her completely. I hadn't forgotten her sweet voice, her blue eyes and how she always believed, no matter what, that hope was the most important thing we could own. "Lee?" I hadn't spoken in a while.  
"Sorry, no. Off limits."  
"Can you tell me why or-?"  
"No." Noticing I was seeming a bit cold, I added a soft 'sorry' at the end and fumbled with my jackets leather. When I took it off the night before, I noticed the name 'Rachel' messily written to the tag. I didn't know any Rachel and I hadn't seen her name on the papers I had from when I could remember the girls. Maybe she was my Mother? Sister? Brother? I didn't even know if I had any of those. What if I stole it? It could be possible that this whole place was a prison. Whoever they were, I hoped they were still alive as they had the decency to give me the bad-ass looking thing. "It's okay," Blondie eventually stumbled out ", I don't have to know. Don't mention it to Alby, though. He'll force it out of you." He laughed, I didn't. Why did I have to screw everything up?

* * *

"Before you go, love, Alby wants to talk to you. He's just outside the Med-jacks Shack." Newt pointed over to the place Alby stood, his arms were folded and his frown- frownier than ever. "He looks like he's in a good mood." I joked, slightly nudging Newt.  
"Yeah. Well, you can't blame him. You did kick him in the shin. I'm pretty sure the bruise is still there." I scoffed. He was such a baby. You'd think a proper leader would forget and forgive. But nope. Mr. salty-ass wasn't getting any less salty. "Who doesn't love me? You know what, I'm going to be so sweet, he was to forgive me." We both tittered, Newt shaking his head at me and mine swayed at him.  
"I'd like to see you try, shank. I'm the sweetest boy in the world and you're still a bloody stick up the ass." He gave an innocent smile, straightening his posture and walking like some kind of butler. "What the heck are you doing?" I crowed. He didn't answer, just continued. Attempting to keep a straight face. We were gaining on the Shack.  
Oh, and Alby.  
It made me wonder why the Med-jack shack was so far away from the actual room where they operate. Guess I'd find out.

* * *

"Alby. I got what you requested," Blondie patted me on the back ", now, you two have a nice little bloody chit-chat and I'll be back to take you around to the rest of the stuff," he winked at me ", two hours for each job, twenty minutes extra for this one since Alby is gonna talk to ya'.  
Bye love."  
Newt brushed his soft hand against mine, making me shiver slightly. And, before I could stop to talk with the boy, he was gone.

"Right shank, let's get to talking."  
"Aye, shank."

 **Oh! Hello! Didn't see you there! Thanks for reading this chapter!  
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I'm on holiday for _another_ two weeks. Meaning, since editing week is almost over, I haven't written for _a wholee weeekkk!_ And, I won't be able to write for another _twowowoowow! O_ uch. Also, writing 10k+ words a chapter takes me about a week, so ****unfortunately, no chapter for three weeks :(. But, the next one will be interesting. I promise. One last thing, apologies for the nothingness that happened this chapter. It was a bore to write, too. Oke doodle. Bye for real, now!)**


	6. Recall

**'Intelligence is a gift. Not a right. It must not be wielded as a weapon. But as a tool for the betterment of others.'  
\- All Erudite**

* * *

 **231.12.12 | 8:06 A.M** **.**

Men and women, adults and elders, poured into the large grey room, a room in which a middle-aged blonde woman stood at the front of. An elongated, centered, glass table placed conveniently in front of her.  
"Come in, come in. Thank you all for being potent and on-time at this abrupt meeting. Although, many of you may've predicted it."  
Blondie's-  
Ave Paige's voice boomed over all those that muttered, gesturing her suited arm to the many seats before her.  
It was clear the most decisive apprentices for Ava sat nearest to the front, nearest to the Chancellor. The woman gave a weak attempt to smile, as, much worry was hidden behind it, nodding at those who orderly flooded into the room.  
The reserved chairs were already filled with the lead physician, Dr. Oxton, the lead Psych, Ms. Crawford, the lead agent, Dr. Michael, A.D. Janson and-  
the last two seats, for the lead Technician and Nurse, were empty. Limited to a 'Tom Harvey' and a 'Fareeha Amari'.

* * *

Once the employees had filled the once-empty chairs, the Chancellor began her rambling speech. "Before I start, I would like to thank out _new_ Assistant Director, Janson. And welcome him, warmly to his first meeting." The rat-resembling man bowed his head in gratitude, raising his white-coated arm to the solemn faces around the room. "Glad to be here." His voice was nasally and stiff, like a harsh poke in the ribs. Pathetic simpers threw themselves towards the front, no one _really_ felt happy for him. They preferred the old Assistant Director. A.D. Prentiss.  
In addition to that, most of them knew. Didn't they?  
The rumor had spread.  
"Many of you, if not all of you know about Miss Earhart," the room broke into nods and shifting feet, uncomfortable re-positioning. A few frowns coming from the back. "She was always a special one, one we never thought we desperately needed to survive. Yet, we had no doubt that she _would_ perish. The young girl gave us the best results. But, I was afraid that since she wasn't in her own Glade, she wouldn't give us the best results we could be asking for. She would be without her... _love interest,"_ the woman said with almost spite. "To protect-"  
"Hang on," a man at the back raised his hand after he had spoken, pointless. Really. "Sorry, ma'am. Can you elaborate? What is going on? Where is said girl? Why does she need to survive and why, in god's name, is she not in her own Glade?" The man, along with his friends, hadn't heard the news yet. A rarity. Gossip gnats quickly in the WICKED compound.  
Chancellor Paige gave a silent 'ah' and smiled pitifully.  
"Sorry, Mr. Brown. I forgot to mention to those who had no hearing of the matter. Shouldn't get ahead of myself, now," she licked her dry lips ", Amelia. One of our most treasured subjects, ha-"  
"Don't call them subjects." The youngest one of the leads called. Noah Michael, is what his seat recited. The flush on his face shortly after only told the clearance that he regretted it eminently. A few were aghast, most weren't, the young man had done the same thing many times before. The only reason he was on the board was because his father used to be the old Chancellor before insanity. And,  
he was a genuinely _good_ agent.  
"What he means is-" the old woman started, the one sat next to Noah. Fiona Crawford. "Dr, no need. I'm completely in the wrong for calling them mere subjects. They deserve more than that, after helping us _immensely_ ," she dragged on her words, to plant guilt into the man. Yet he refused to look her in the eye. "Very well," she sighed, casting her gaze over to those that were clueless. "Amelia. One of our most treasured _cohorts?_ "The Chancellor unintentionally snapped, raising her eyebrows at the room, as if it were their fault for Noah's mistake, before glaring back down at the twenty-four-year-old _boy_. The one that still didn't make eye-contact with her, the one that fumbled with his fingers under the desk. No nod. No nothing. "Is that _better_ for you, Michaels?" Mr. Michaels eyes gandered over to Dr. Crawford's, her eyes had never left him since he spoke. He tried to gain her reaction. The slightest smirk on her face told him she was proud, but that was outdone by the worry the woman always felt for him. She believed strongly in WICKED's morals, Noah, not so heavily.  
If at all.  
And he didn't try to hide that.  
But, he would be dead if it weren't for that one amazing woman.  
He was immune, yes, but _just_ too old to be in the Maze trials. Since his father died, they had no one to care for him. No mother, no sibling. He had no one. He remembers it clearly. Three guards hauling him out of a large, metal door, into the open. With the cranks. He fought back as much as he could, but the scratching and limp kicking wasn't enough. Noah accepted it would be the end of him at a very young age.  
But then, _she_ came. If Fiona wasn't late for a class she was supposed to be teaching, she would've never caught the guards being so cruel, never hauled him away and told Chancellor Anderson that she would take care of him from then on.  
She fed him, cared for him, gave him a bed to sleep in and a proper education. All without any affectionate words. Nothing but 'good morning,' and ', how was your day?' Maybe the occasional bed-time story? But very rarely. At work, they addressed each other as 'Mr' and 'Dr', acting like the minor work associates that they were. Relationships would get too complicated, otherwise.  
No matter how much she did or didn't do for him, she would always be his un-biological mother. And a hero in Noah's eyes.  
And the fact remained that he loved her. And she loved him.

* * *

"Better." Dr. Crawford sighed, confirming for Noah like she wouldn't do for anybody else. The tone in her voice made it seem... _disappointed._ But she could never, would never be disappointed in him. Ever. "I shall now continue to explain to Mr. Brown and the few others, yes?" Ava's voice was then pitchy. She didn't wait for an answer. "Amelia," she repeated, unnecessarily, for the third time that evening, "one of our most treasured cohorts, was sent up to the wrong maze aft-"  
mutters broke out, arguments and puzzlement.  
The Chancellor raised her voice "-after her inconvenient death in Group B's Maze." If it was possible, the room shattered into more whispers. But why whisper when else is? Why talk at all if the majority knows? Why _still_ bicker when the Chancellors face is tipped with non-fulfillment. Like a nonchalant acting teacher, Ava skimmed her eyes over the 'classroom', sucking the inside of her cheeks. There was a modernized computer sitting in front of her, and behind the woman, a larger version of that computer that broadcast-ed to the meeting.  
The gathering hushed as the dotted scientists poked their neighbor, nodding their head towards Chancellor Paige and her griping expression.  
"Good. Five minutes off your lunch break. All of you," They knew better than to complain. "Do I have your permission to keep speaking? The thing I intended to do at first. _Without_ getting interrupted? Or do we need to take more time off your day? Because I would happily take part in that."  
Silence.  
"Now, most of you are most probably wondering how this happened. _Aren't you?"_ She knitted her brows and glared at Noah intensely, although, he wasn't doing anything that could've bothered the strict-seeming lady.  
Again, silence.  
"Pathetic.  
Well, I thought it would be more effective to, not tell you, but show you what exactly happened on that torturous day."  
On que, the large screen at the end of the room flicked on, presenting blankness.  
For a few seconds, it stayed like that, then changing to a birds-eye-view perspective of two girls in Group B's Maze.

* * *

"This specific recording is not necessarily pretty. You are allowed to turn away, but for a better idea, please give this video your full attention. Just to make sure you have a completed conclusion to this discussion. Many of you have already seen startling things in life. In fact, all of us have at some point. So, this should be no problem for you. Just as a warning."  
She clicked play.

* * *

The girls were pushing around with each other, teasing and mocking. The darker skinned one, their Chancellor specified as Rachel. And the short-haired blonde one was labelled as Amelia. The mumbling and height of the recording made the muffled talking unsubstantial to the employees. For a few minutes, this continued, the girls nudging each other around, the black-haired one gawking at the recently discovered blank wall.  
Then the outlook changed to one on the ground, presumably from a beetle-blade that lay there at the time. The sound from the two girls boomed around the room, startling most of them.  
 _"Amelia,"_ Rachel snapped, clicking her fingers into the other girls face, who was staring into the open void. _"_ _It's getting late, we're gonna have to set off, back to the Glade. We don't want to be stuck in here together... again."_ She leant her leg against the back walls and sighed at the unresponsive girl.  
 _"You're right, let's g-"_ but Amelia was cut off by the whirrs and clicks heading straight towards her. And the crowd in the room couldn't help but gasp, even the operators that'd already seen the clips.  
 _"_ _Amelia!_ _"_ The other one screamed, grabbing Amelia by her collar and flung her forward, over-sizing her dark-green shirt. But, her acting's were too late, as the Griever had inserted its stinger into her back. She barely flinched. Like she wanted to hide it. The blonde one pulled out one of her many visible knifes she had on her and circled around the beast, lurching at its soft spots. Rachel soon caught on and did the same thing with a knife Amelia had lent her earlier that week. _"_ _Run!_ _"_ Amelia screamed, furrowing her eyebrows at Rachel, though still trying to fight off the beast that she had helped to design. Blood spirted form her more than the other, it was clear that if Rachel didn't make it out, neither of them were going to. Employees looked down at their feet, unable to continue viewing the played-back tape.  
" _Look!_ " Chancellor Paige hissed, "it hasn't gotten to the worst yet."  
Now the darker one was yelling, the blondie playing it cool. Or trying, anyway. There was a certain layer of panic behind that calm face.  
But she hid it well.  
 _"_ _Are you kidding me?! Hell no!_ _"_ Rachel responded, doing less of a job than the girl beside her.  
The blood rushed like a river for one and a stream for another, mixing in with pools of sweat.  
 _"You do piss me off sometimes-"_  
"I apologise for the language used by this young lady. She doesn't have the cleanest of mouths."  
 _"_ _What in the world? You're stung!_ _"_  
The blonde had told the black that she was stung.  
 _"Positive. Just go, please. Tell Marnie that I love her if I don't make it back-"  
_ The Chancellor rolled her eyes  
 _"-which I will."  
_ The blood shed more and more, Amelia had gone extremely pale and looked at the peak of vomiting.  
And-  
surprisingly-  
the young girl left. The young girl left one of her closest friends, maybe her only one, sobbing. But she left her all the same.

* * *

The camera remained on the dying one. No cheeky grin anymore, no teasing eyes. It had dawned on her that she wasn't going to make it out. If she hadn't known it all along.  
But if she had, she sure as hell knew how to compress it with a simple smile. Tears swelled for her eyes, not out of sadness, not out of regret. But of pain.  
Almost all of the room had bowed their head, unable to look at the bloody mess of a seventeen-year-old on the screen before them. She fell to the ground, spitting out teeth and blood clumps. Half her hair was torn from her head and her arm was hanging so listlessly, if she swung it slightly it would easily come clean off. But, Amelia wasn't able to figure that one out for herself as she drooped her head and life drained from her forest-green eyes.

* * *

"There. Now you've seen it," Chancellor Paige mentioned after multiple minutes of unwanted silence. "I know it was grim. I'm sorry, but it had to be watched. Fortunately, our skilled surgeons, doctors and nurses cleaned her up and put her back together with the most advanced of equipment. You may ask, _why save this particular girl?_ Well...  
That's complicated.  
All of this isn't uncomplicated.  
Her and another boy share the rarest blood type. A blood type we need for these Maze Trials to continue. The blood type: BA-negative, 0.01% of this earth's population possess this specialty. The survey was taken fifteen years ago, now. I suspect the majority of this 0.01% are dead. We, as a corporation, need these two types to go on. I will not go into full detail as the reason why. But, BA-negative says something about you, gives you a purpose. They don't give up no matter what the situation is, no matter how damaged or broken they are inside. They could be near to death, the nearest to death, still attempting to find a solution to their pain. They don't have to be daredevils, yet this one is proving itself to be. As for the boy, he's not the strongest he could become. But he outsmarts the girl my two-hundred miles. The girl isn't stupid, none of the sub-  
cohorts are stupid. But the boy has the wits to solve the Maze in the time it takes fifty boys to, quicker. Possibly. And with the two types of the type, the dauntless and the erudite, there is nothing stopping the cure. They won't give up. And, as soon as the girl sees our true intention, as the boy already has, we could be stronger than we already are. More powerful with them on our side. So, in short. That's why we saved her," she took a long pause for effect, "but we made a major mistake. Or should I say _they_. 'They' are locked far away, to be used in phase three. As my good assistant and friend Lena said, 'they deserve to be with the cranks'. And their actions made me think about how truthfully she was speaking. They deserve to _be_ the cranks. It was as if they had it planned, sending Amelia to Group A. I wouldn't be surprised if it was. Two operators, employees I trusted, sent the girl-  
I should address her by her name-  
Amelia.  
They sent Amelia to the wrong Maze. Group A's Maze. And, the doctors that fixed her, added another month to the trials. They sent her the day Thomas was supposed to be sent up. That leads our experiment to be delayed a full month. And I realize we may not have time for that. For a while, we didn't have any clue about where Thomas, Aris, Rachel and Teresa were. Lost in limbo somewhere. But, luckily, Aris and Teresa found their way back to us. Saying they were dropped in the middle of nowhere. They claimed to remember everything from the reset that occurred, the reset that sent them back up so there would be room for our uninvited guest to Group A. They demanded answers. So, we spilled and they did too. About how Thomas and Rachel had run away together, having no clue who anyone and anything was, as their memories were erased. The agents have brought them back and we are starting the process again. You may wonder why WICKED couldn't just pluck Amelia out and plonk her back in her home Glade. It's not that simple. Nothing is that simple. It got some good variable results, too. Her remembering another Glade, meeting all the boys. Creatures she only had distant memories of. And, the results from Group B's Maze -prior to when we reset it- were untaggable. It's too late now to put a boy in Group B, let alone the fact we have no other cohorts... so it will just be a one side experience, unfortunately. So, this meeting ends on a happy note, really. We have kept a rare alive and saved interesting results to our files, inching us closer to our final closure on the Trials. We made a decision a time ago that it would be interesting to erase Amelia's memories of Group B's Maze. Not completely. But cutting faces, names and the layout. Keeping, only the Maze. One of our old Technicians, Millie Schuyler, invented a very cleaver mechanism that I was sure wouldn't come to use. But it has done, very much so. Every time Amelia sleeps, she will dream a memory. And once she wakes up, she will remember that dream for exactly twenty minutes. And then it's gone, eliminating people from it, too. I think we can call this a redeemed success. I'm sorry for having rambled. I just wanted to make sure everyone had the perfect idea on what happened and what we plan. Thank you all for coming and I will see you all very shortly, I'm positive of it."  
And he shuffles of chairs, feet and boards concluded the small gathering greatly.

 **Holy shoot!**

 **Hello there small peeps.**  
 **Most of you a most probably taller than me.**

 **Hey ho. I'm back!**

 **YAY?**

 **I was on holiday, but have pieced together this small chapter (I know, I'm sorry) about WICKED. Kinda just to explain what's going on. I don't want things to get complicated.**

 **Every sixth chapter, I will have a shorter one deepening into the lives of WICKED employees, as they'll become important later on in the series. THANK YOUUU for all the love and support I've had whilst I've been gone! It overwhelms me and excites me immensely that people are enjoying the fanfiction. I'm putting most of my time into this and I'm so glad it's paying off.**  
 **When I rule the world, I will kill you all last.**  
 **(Don't hate me. I'm a psychopath)**  
 **BUHYEE. Stay utterly utter!**  
 **(And utterly 'and Peggy')**

 **EDITTEJNRNEBH:** **Hullo there, as I mentioned, I've been on holiday for a while. And in that period of time I wrote stories and conjured up plots for my next chapter. But, I also didn't feel in the element at one point, but still wanted to write. So, I wrote down my feelings. I guess I'll show you what I wrote. Honestly, I dunno what I was feeling at that time, somewhere between depression and AHMAHGAHTODDKISSEDVIOLAOMGOMGOMGDAVYNODUNTDIEPLSFUCKINGPRESITENT*MAYORPRENTISSTRYNNAGETINTHEWAYOFOURFLOW1017ISNOTGAYOKAY?HAMILTIONBABYDONTCHEATONELIZAOMGTERESAHASHERMEMORIES? .**

 **So ya,Here you are.**

 _Finished Reading Chaos Walking. And, at the end of every book I find myself crying my heart out and needing a thing to learn from it_ **(which I do, almost every book gives me a different life-lesson that I don't acknowledge)** _But not always. Yes, I have learnt a lot from Patrick Ness_ **(A freaking lot, he's my bloody lord and savior) but, whenever I read the conclusion, they're always so powerful I almost forget what I gained (I spoke the truth)** _I still feel so blown away._

 _"Cuz here I come"_  
 _Arg. So powerful.  
_ **(If you've never read the books, you won't get why this is such a big line. It broke my heart but mended it at the same time. Viola, wait for him. Wait for Todd. He's coming. Here he comes.)**

 _A cliff-hanger. As always_

 **(Patrick always leaves chapters and the end of the book on a cliff-hanger. But I like that. That's why he's my favorite writer. He leaves the ending up to the reader. Does Todd live, does Todd die? It's incredible. He's incredible and I'm head-over-heels for all of his characters!)**

 _You bet you pony-lovin-butt I'm going to be researching the hell outta it, you bet I'm going to read every fanfiction in existence. And, then I'll move on. Like I do with all books. I move to the next.  
_

 **(Well, duh. Past self. Everyone reads more than one book in their life... I hope)**

 _It's not like I forget completely about them, I never do._ **(Unless it sucks)**

 _SPOLIERERE:  
_

 _IF YOU HAVEN'T READ TDC SKIP THIS BFDHGYDSUERJBSBJ_

 _I still haven't gotten over Newts death, man. Never gonna lose sight of that_ **(FACT THAT YOU HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH THE BEST WIFE. CONGRATULATIONS. 4 hammy fans. Love you bbs)**

 _But that's how I work. I love one book series, then move to the next._ **(What am I? The tooth-fairy?)**

 _Rightio!_

 _*insert jingle*_

 _DEANIES TOP THREE BOOKS (with sequels/prequels)_

 _1\. The Maze Runner Trilogy (inc TK and TFC)  
2\. Chaos Walking Trilogy  
3\. Divergent Trilogy (inc Four)_

 _It's funny how they all turned out to be trilogy's. I don't know if it's because more people write them, more people read them or maybe it's just because they're EPIC. Who bloody knows? Not me._ **(Slim-it, bish. I know everything)**

 _I just know Venny (Veronica Roth), James Dashner and Patrick Ness are fantastic, talented writers. Especially Patrick Ness, he's my favorite writer and will always be._ **(I'm like a yandere for authors)**

 _You may be wondering why Harry Potter isn't on that list._ **(Nope, I was not wondering that. I was wondering: If dried mango's could talk, what would they say?)**

 _Here, I hope this makes sense:I don't count HP as a mere book series. It's something better than that. Something else. Completely. It's too good to be a book, too good to be a god. The world of J.K. Rowling introduced me to books in general and the excitement behind them, bringing along emotions, too. It taught me that love doesn't have to be for people, it can be for anything and everything. For me, that thing is books (And Hamilton) I think that's why I'm so open. I read. Simple. The love that you feel doesn't have to be romantic, either. It can be whatever. You do you. If you wanna marry a tree, sure, go ahead. I want to too. I have a really nice tree buddy called Wilfred... I should stop before I get arrested._ **(Please don't think I make love to a tree. I don't. ONLY ONCE. It was a phase...**

 **Btw, sarcasm...**

 **Or is it?)**

 _I find reading dangerous, you lose people you love all the time during a book, and sometimes that created a void that needs to be filled. But you can't. You don't have enough dirt. That's why I like it, it's thrilling and can hurt you._ **(True dauntless at heart)**

 _On that note, please, myself, don't ever express your feelings again. And, I'll be writing the next chapter very soon ;)_  
 _Don't ask why I winked._

 _I'm a bit giddy. It's 5:16 and the internet is down. I pulled an all nightery. 12/08/17_  
 _Remember that 's when I drank a lot of coffee to stay awake and write. Good that.  
_ _toddles, poodles_

 **(hobbit)**


	7. Finders Keepers

**'Be so good, they can't ignore you.'  
\- Steve Martin**

* * *

 **231.12.12 | 11:26 A.M.**

" _Right shank, let's get to talking."  
_ _"Aye, shank."_

"It's 'bout that Running business. Newt was talking to me last night. Begging me almost. Sayin' that you'd never forgive him. I mean. Dang, if you saw his shucking face," Alby rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact with me at all costs. "He was distraught. It was a good idea. Keeping you safe. But, he made good points that I'm guessing you stated first. Said you had an argument of some sort. Which… I can believe. You two are almost complete opposites. Looks like you've made up though," He paused. I didn't say a word, not wanting to mess anything up again. I still had kicking him to apologize for. "Anyway… yeah. He's probably already told you. I couldn't hold my guard up against him. You can run. You'll be running with Minho in a few days, maybe a week. It depends how long all this… _stuff_ goes on for. Hopefully it'll end shortly," I had no clue what 'stuff' he was referring to and I honestly didn't care, at least he was talking. "Right, back to the shucking point. Mess up once while running, you're working with the next best-fitted job for you. Now, go in there and blow them away with your medical skills." I snorted. If I had any skills at all, medical assisting wasn't one of them. I laid my hand on the doorknob of the shack, Alby's back pointed to my face. I wasn't thinking when I called out-  
"Hey… Alby,"  
He whipped around so smoothly it looked – for a millisecond – as if he were doing a dance, I forced myself to stifle back a laugh. "I'm… uh- sorry for kicking you on my first day. I panicked. Won't do it again." He nodded, taking my apology. When his back turned once more, I grinned to myself. I didn't panic, I wasn't sorry. I have no regrets, and I would do it again if I had to. _Really_.  
I turned the knob I held.

* * *

"Hey, it's my favorite Glader. Shank, how's your foot?" Jeff was beaming, Clint sitting next to him. There were boxes of piled stuff everywhere. None of the boxes were labelled, just stacked and messed together. It looked like what would happen if I ruled the world. "Wouldn't you like to know." Clint nose-laughed, putting down a strange instrument down on the pact-table that barely fit in the room.  
"Thank you for bringing me to my version of heaven. Always wanted to meet God, tell him I'm sorry for killing that guy once… then putting his dog in a tutu. It was- a strange situation."  
"I bet. Right. Yes, slint-head. This is bugging heaven. We're here because there are people in the homestead that are actually injured. And the instruments in there are far too complex. Let's be real. Not a single one of us in this tiny room think you're going to be very good at this." Clint made a good point, I had a distant memory of me patching another girl up. We'll leave it at _it didn't end well_.  
"Hey! I can… _help_ people just as much as you can. In a very different way, of course. I mean… if they want to me injured, I'm your girl." I said, jabbing a thumb at myself  
"Yeah, don't, though. Gives us more work to do. We just want to sleep." Jeff stretched out his legs as much as he could in the miniature room, reaching over Clint for a block of wood with a calved face and body, half-finished. It looked like it's features had been melted clean off.  
"This," Jeff slammed the thing down on the table that was squeezed so tightly into the room, "this is Bobby."  
"Oh. Poor Bobby. Is it okay if I call him Boobie? It's a prettier name."  
Clint rolled his eyes as I kneeled next to the table. The block of wood had a hole in its chest, all of its organs had been scooped out of the ditch and placed on the side. Although, the organs didn't look much like organs. I knew what they were only because of the labels. "It's a shucking slab 'o' wood. Do we need to name it? Seriously, I'd rather we practice on other people." Clint straightened himself and curved his chair and him around, laying it next to me.  
"Fist: It's not an 'it' it's a she. And, second: I would happily practice on you, Mr. Cranky."  
"It's a _she_? Bobby is a boy's name, slint-head." Jeff rubbed the tip of his brow to show his dissatisfaction in me.  
"I don't want to get lonely, ya'know. Being the only girl and stuff" I frowned and raised on myself, now standing on my knees.  
"Alright, you two. Stop being pieces of klunks, falling in love an' all," I frowned harder, "we got work to do. Now, first off, you gotta put all these buggin' organs in place. In the _right_ place".  
Shit.  
I remembered learning this, I _knew_ I learnt this. But, it is most probable that I tuned out, as I do with most things.  
"Okay. Well I know the heart is slightly to the left? And the lungs go around it. Right?"  
"Oh, wow. Genius. Shucking genius. Stick it in then," Clint threw me three chunks of wood, me, catching them all.  
"Jeez shank. Might not be that smart, but you sure are physical… for a girl."  
"You sure are closed-minded for a human being. Wait- no. All humans are closed-minded."  
"That's very true." Jeff hung in the back. I guessed it was his break as he wasn't contributing very much to the session. I doubted he had to be here in the first place.  
I chucked them into the wood piece, not caring where they landed. I didn't see the point of me trying out for the Med-jacks when it was factual that I'm terrible at helping people other than myself.  
"That's exactly where they go. You're a natural."  
"Clint, what's the point of this? She knows where they go. She doesn't have to put them in the correct place."  
"It's fun! Yay! Whoopdy-shucking-doo," Clint replied whilst fixing my mess of organs I had lobbed in.  
"Now," he handed me two other hunks, "where do these go?" One was labelled 'kidney' and, next was the stomach. I could care less.  
"These go in a tree," I said, throwing the two back at him. "Put them back where they belong. They miss their parents."  
This gained a laugh from Jeff and cold-eyes from Clint.  
"You're jacked in the head, girlie. Look, Alby's making us do this. We don't want to do it, either. Just work with us here. Put them in the correct place." And I did. Strangely. I got it right. Luck of the draw, though. Got the next couple completely wrong. But it picked up the pace a little, I started to work with them more. Clint made a fair point, not any of us wanted to be in there. So, I came to the conclusion that it would be best for me to listen and do whatever they told me to. The session was coming to an end, I guessed. I estimated that I had been in the crammed room for around fifteen minutes. But I couldn't be sure.  
"Well, now that we've done the naming of instruments. There's nothing else to do but sit here and be shucking happy that it's over. We'll wait for Newt to come and get y-"  
"Clint, we need you. Now." The door swung open and clashed with the wooden wall by its side. It was Ably. He jerked his head to the homestead and scurried away, almost at a running pace.  
"Ah, well. You two have a nice chit-chat. I'll see you around, Amelia." He nodded his head once before leaving the room, forgetting to shut the door behind him.  
"What do you think that was about?" I ask the only person left in the room, Jeff. He shrugs and moves to close the door, nudging boxes out of the way with his foot. I heard a click and something bolting in place. Did he just lock the door? "No clue. But I'm glad we're alone now," he lowered his eyebrows, "sorry that sounded shucking creepy… but I need to talk to you about something." I copied his facial expression and slid from the floor into the chair Clint was originally sitting on.  
"Okay. Shoot." My hands started fidgeting, I looked askance. Had I done anything wrong? Again? He shuffled to his seat and sat, swiping the 'body' off the stand. He then grabbed his coat that laid across a lowered shelf and placed it on his lap, fumbling for something in his large pockets.  
"Don't freak out. I can't have a buggin' crazy pigeon in the room," I smiled, although it wasn't real and waited for him to find the right pocket. " **Ah!** " I guess he found it.  
"You oka-?"  
He pulled out his hand, showing a bleeding index finger.  
"I'll be fine. It's nothing." He sucked on the blood, causing his finger to go a pale shade of yellow where the wound was. After, he emptied the coat by flipping it over and shaking it. And out fell knives. About seven of them.

"These are yours, shank."  
"You what?"  
"These knives," his voice lowered, "these are yours. Found them in your jacket when you passed out. Thought I'd keep them for you. _Forever_. Why do you have these?"  
"Why do _you_ have these? What gives you the right to go through my stuff? If those knives are mine, as you say they are. Give them back." They were mine. I can commemorate feeling them in my back pocket when I walked around the Glade.  
"Look, I'm sorry. But these could kill-"  
"That's the point"  
" _Kill_. No one knows a lot about you and so many of the klunks in the Glade still want to take out your guts. Almost everyone doesn't trust you. Yet I still do. Even with these knives I found. You're going to help us. Right? And these could be for defense. You should be happy I didn't tell Newt or Alby. I can't give you these back. Sorry." But I was already sneaking them back into my pocket by flipping them under the table.  
"It's okay, I understand. But I don't know if Alby and Newt will be happy when I tell them you have a lotta knives about you…"  
I took the last one from the table. He surely would've noticed by then, noticed that the seven that were once there disappeared.  
"You can't tell Alby that I have knives when I don't. Hand em' back over shuck-face."  
Oh.  
"Damnit. Thought you didn't see"  
"would've been a miracle"  
"yeah…"  
I passed him the blades one by one, sarcastically glaring at him as I did. Then, my eyes darted to something silver coming from Jeff's coat that still lay across his lap. Another knife. There were eight. So, I could get away with keeping one if I played it smart.  
It turned out I didn't have to, Jeff was already loading the knives back into his pocket, and if he thought there was seven knives, he just made it so much easier for me.  
"Hey, sorry, but how many knives were there?"  
"I counted seven on the table." He replied. Perfect. I held the last four blades in my hand, the ones I hadn't given over. Practicality was what I was originally going for, but then I saw what was dented in to the shortest, prettiest dagger. Marnie.

* * *

"Here you are. That's all of them. But if I die, you're the one to blame." He nodded, taking my statement seriously and counting how many knives there were in his possession.  
"I'll give these to Minho, tell him that Gally used them for his building or… I dunno. Shuck this man. If I can sneak into the Runners Shack, these will go in there. Newt should be here soon anyway."  
And right on que-  
"Bloody slint-head. Why's the door locked?"  
"To keep shanks like you out." Jeff reached over to unlock the door when I realized I still had Marnie's dagger in hand. I quickly shoved it in my back pocket before Newt busted into the room, shaking the whole building. Speaking of buildings-  
"Alright, love. The builders next. Where's Clint?"  
"Alby wanted him."  
"Ah, yeah. Right,"  
I had no clue what either of them were talking about, I didn't question it, though. Once they started talking, I'd stop listening.  
"How'd she do?"  
"Actually, better than I thought. So, terrible." Jeff responded.  
"Oh well. There's plenty of fish in the sea."  
"That's definitely not how that saying is used." I chuckled, standing up, reaching for the door as it fell, very close to landing on Newt.  
"It's not? Tell me how, then."  
"Newt, let's say you have been in a relationship with Minho fo-"  
"What?!"  
"Stay with me. You've been dating Minho for a while. Then, you two have a huge argument and split. You come to me for comfort, as everyone should, I have a very gentle soul," Jeff snorted, "and I say 'there's plenty of fish in the sea.' It means that there're other people in the world that you could love besides Minho."  
"Oh… but I love _Minho._ "  
As soon as that had processed, none of us could hold the laughter that had been rising for a long while.

* * *

"Gally'll teach you 'bout the shucking ways of the builders. Cope with him, he hasn't gripped the idea of a girl yet." I smirked at my own thoughts, half listening to Newt, half in my own head. I couldn't blame Gally for thinking I was the spawn of Satan, they've never seen anything like me before.  
"Amelia!" There was a banging of footsteps and a tap on the shoulder coming from behind me. As I was drifting, I didn't react at first, but I couldn't ignore it when, what I assumed was Jeff's clenched hand, slid into mine. "This belongs to you-"  
"Hey! Back the bloody hell up." Newt shoved Jeff, leaving whatever was in his had to fall to the tiled ground, split with grass.  
"Dude! I was giving her something! What's your problem? You're jacked, you are," Jeff bowed down to pick up the thing that lay in the grass. I hadn't looked down when it fell, only glared at Newt. "Here. Take this. It's yours. Found it in your pocket with," he closed his mouth before he said any more. "Never-mind."  
I broke my gaze from Newts and softened my face as my eyes landed on Jeff's.  
"Thanks." I took the thing he had so urgently wanted to give me and he started to walk away.  
I held the object in my hand and only looked down when Jeff and left for the Homestead. It was a wooden airplane, painted with red streaks and to perfection. And, on the other side it had the initials J.A. messily written on it. I had no clue who any 'J.A.' was, and I couldn't be bothered figuring it out.

* * *

"Newt, what was that about? Why did you lash out?" It wasn't his right to act like that, I don't need protecting and he should have had a clear idea in the situation before jumping to conclusions. "What did you think was wrong with that? He was _giving_ me something. He wasn't going to kill me. I don't need protecting, I'm perf-"  
" **I'm not protective** ," I beg to differ, "Or… I'm not protecting you. I thought… well… since the door was locked, it gave the impression that he was doing- stuff… to you." The crunching of our footsteps heightened the discomfort of the circumstance. Was he _trying_ to be pessimistic?  
"You'd think I would've told you. Or acted wired? If he had done anything to me, he would turn up with two black eyes and a broken leg."  
"Yeah, but then he put his hand in yours… it seemed bloody sketchy to me..."  
"He was _giving_ me something. Newt, why're you stressing? I'm not shucking dead." I didn't even know I had said it, 'shucking'. I'd heard it so often, it came naturally.  
"You're using the Gladers slang!" His face lit up and the previously non-existent smile shone.  
"Oh, shoot. Yeah. I did. Ignore that. Um-"  
"I can't ignore that! You're growing up, small one"  
"Okay, I am definitely taller than you, _small one_."  
" **No** , you are not! I'm getting Clint to measure us after this!" -  
And the conversation continued somewhat similarly.

* * *

"Right, shank. You're going to build something simple. A stool. Outta wood. Since you broke the last one we had in the pit" Newt had left me with Gally, the Keeper of the Builders, and gone off to do whatever it is _protective_ people do.  
"A stool? Okay. To knock another 'man' out with?" I saw a hint of a grin flash across his face before it stiffened to the regular coldness.  
"Slim-it, Greenie. I got the wood out, it's o'er there," he dipped his head to his far left, where two clods of wood sat. I doubted I needed that much for a simple stool, but I nodded in response. "Your chopping it with the axe that's next to it and 'en you'll sand it down, finally fixing it all together. The sand paper is in the shack. Sound good?"  
"Sounds like a chore, GalPal."  
He flashed me an irritated look whilst I plodded over to the stack and hoisted the axe up and over my shoulder.  
" _You_ can call me Captain Gally. Nothing else."  
"Aye, aye. Captain." He rolled his eyes and started to a bench near where I was working, to observe my actions and how I did. No matter what, I knew he was going to down-talk me. I wasn't completely sure how I was to cut the wood if there wasn't a base, the grass wasn't stable enough. There was a tree stump not too far from where I was supposed to be cutting, so I lobbed _too_ many planks of wood over and placed them, one at a time, on the log, the rings pointing to the sky.  
"That's smart, Greenie. Didn't know you had it in you." Gally raised as my position was blocking his view, and wandered over, his hands deep in his jean pockets.  
"It'd be insanely difficult to cut the wood on the grass, it would fall over and when you finally slice it… not precise."  
"You seem to know quite a bit about building. Most Green Beans suck at this. You might not be as bad as I first thought you were."  
I positioned the plank to be exactly in the middle, then picked up the axe and flung it over my head, bringing it down and wedging the piece wood thoroughly in half. "Yeah. Many people underestimate me. Mainly because I'm a _girl_. And- most of the time I act like a horse's tail." The cylinder of bark was now two standing-semicircles. Two legs, down. Gally chuffed and folded his arms, the edges of his mouth creasing to the floor. He stood pigeon-toed with worn-out shoes and his shirt, just about as dirty as mine. "That's shucking ridiculous."  
"Hey, horse tails have feelings too!" I shoved the two logs off the stump and onto the ground, in a pile on the floor for picking up once I'd finished.  
"No, you shank. People thinking down on you because you're a girl. I think both genders can do the same if they spend a certain amount of time set on something. To not trust you because you're a girl is stupid."  
"…You don't trust me. You said so yourself in 'the gathering'. I don't understand you, buddy boy."  
I chucked down another trunk in the spot of where the old one covered.  
"No. I don't trust you. But not because you're a girl. Because you know things that no one else ever knew before. You're a game-changer."  
"You don't like things going out of routine, do you?"  
I raised the axe.  
"It's not like _that_. It's the fact that I don't know if you're telling the truth because I've never been through what you have. When we first came up to the Glade, none of us remembered anything, and I knew all Greenie's from then on were being truthful. Not you. Never you. You know too much."  
I cast the axe down, splitting it straight in the middle.  
"Funny thing is, I don't."  
"What?"  
"I can hardly remember my old Glade, whereas, when I first came up to _this_ Glade, I could remember almost everything. Now, not so much. I can only remember the Maze and one relationship with a certain girl. The rest are gone. No memories. Does that make you feel any better?"  
Another plank was picked up and placed down, a larger one this time for the seat of the stool. I sat it on its side this time, with the rings pointing to either side of the walls. I only had to chop two sections of it, the ends, to make a wide circle.  
"Not one bit, as that information you had could've helped us. Thanks."  
"You strike me as a _man_ who has never been satisfied."  
"I'm sure I don't know what you mean. You forget your- shucking -self."  
"You're like me, I'm never satisfied."  
"Is that right?"  
"I will never be satisfied."  
 _Hash  
_ "It's strange" Gally began.  
"Hmm?"  
 _Hash_.  
The last edge gone.  
Now I was left with a thick-ish slab that was in dire need of sanding. I lobbed the axe into the stump and gathered the five segments I needed, kicking the excess timber away.  
"How we're so similar, yet we despise each other." I pouted, starting to drowsily walk to a small shack that Gally had pointed out earlier.  
"I wouldn't say I despise you. I also wouldn't say that we're similar. Just never appeased."  
He shrugged his shoulders and followed after me, keeping his distance.  
"You don't see it. We're more similar than you think."  
"How so?"  
I placed my foot on the door, as my arms were full, and kicked it open, releasing the wood from my grip on the free workbench in the corner of the room.  
"Well, for one, you did the exact same thing I did when I first came up in the shucking box."  
"And what's that?"  
"You refused the request of the rope. To prove that you're stronger than anyone standing around you. Right?"  
I hadn't thought about it comprehensively. But maybe it was to prove something.  
"I guess. But didn't you come with the rest of the boys? How could you refuse when there was no rope or guy to refuse to?"  
"The rope was already there. In a supply box. A kid named Nick picked it up and climbed outta the lift. He tied a knot at the end of it and passed it to everyone. Me, last. And I declined."  
I opened my mouth, about to ignore his explication and ask where the sander was, but he was on it before I could even dispense a word from my mouth. Gally lobbed the sandpaper across the room. And I caught it, of course.  
"Cheers,"  
He was sitting on a wooden crate, emptied and used as something to sit on, presumably. I knew it was hollow, he was tapping on it with his bloody knuckles and splintered palms.  
"What else? It can't only be that if you want to make an acceptable proposition."  
I began to sand one of the four legs, scratching the bark off on the outside of the log and rounding the four edges and two ledges.  
"There. You did what I would do. Ask for more evidence. Like you said, never satisfied."  
"I suppose."  
My hands established splinters, but it was nothing compared to the one I had caught in my foot. It was feeling better, I could walk a lot easier. But I still had no clue how long I had been asleep. Could've been years. I somewhat remember waking up and walking around, drinking and eating daily. But, only faintly. Nothing interesting happened.  
"Your hands are splintered."  
"Thanks for that, Einstein. And yours aren't?"  
He rolled his eyes as I dragged the rough paper down the bark.  
"You're bleeding, though. And my hands are covered in plasters. I have some,"  
He started to reach for another, smaller crate. But I cut him off, throwing whatever was in my reach at him. It turned out to be a varnish brush.  
It hit him on his shoulder, not where I was aiming for. I was going a bit lower than that. But, hey ho. Got his attention.  
"Ah. Bitch. I was being nice?"  
"Eh, I don't need anything. If I am going to cover something, it'll be at the end. What's the point building something up if it's going to fall again?"  
"Inspirational, slint-head."  
"I try." I kidded. It was only a dot of blood, nothing I couldn't handle. We sat in silence, him watching me sand and _me_ watching _me_ sand. The bark had completely destroyed the paper by the time I had scraped all the bark off, and I hadn't even started on the corners.  
Luckily, there was a whole box of grit paper that I brought down from one of the lower shelves.  
"So… how's your foot?"  
I frowned.  
"Why are you _trying_ to be kind?"  
"You know, small talk?"  
"I hate small talk."  
"Me too."  
I was rounding the corners of the beige log, picking up a sharp tool and dinting a three-inch hole into the top of it. Silence, again. For another two minutes, before Gally spoke. _Again_.  
"Minho told me that you're a funny girl. I thought I'd give you a chance. I don't give many people chances. Think yourself lucky."  
"Oh, I'm the luckiest, funniest girl in the world." I gave him the largest, most sarcastic smile I could, then chucking my plain-but-finished leg to the side, beginning the second of the four.  
"Tell me a joke"  
"Hm?"  
"If you're so funny, tell me a joke. Make me laugh."  
I paused, no jokes popped into the front of my head, so I gave up trying to search for one.  
"Why did the boy drop his ice-cream?"  
His eyes flicked back  
"God knows."  
"He was hit by a bus."  
He frowned for a while, trying to conceal his smile. Though, his dimples told another story. Gally glared at me, daring himself not to crack a grin. I did the same. But, eventually we both busted into fits of laughter. The awkward silence dragged on for too long, neither of us could take any more. Gally wasn't as bad as I first pictured him to be, if I pictured him as anything at all when I first came across him.  
"That was brilliant. I'm klunking myself." He sighed.  
The second leg was done quicker than the first.  
On to the third.  
"That was one of my best. Won't get another one like it."  
"I bet."  
He got up and messed around with equipment while I was advancing on the third leg, then returning to his seat minutes later to watch me get on to the last.

* * *

"My foot is grand, by the way."  
"What?"  
"You asked about my foot earlier… I can hardly feel it."  
He passed me a crooked smile that I seized from the corner of my eye and held in the back of my mind as I shaved away.  
"Lunch after this Greenie. Suppose it's your first one with the whole Glade, huh?"  
That was true. First came my day in the pit, then I stuck a buncha sharp things in the soul of my foot. I felt almost relieved to be 'back to normal' again.  
"Oh, yeah. Unfortunately, I probably won't make it. I'll stumble over my feet on the way there and _die_."  
"Wouldn't put it past you."  
I didn't notice how hungry I was until he mentioned food. So, I moved quicker, yet less efficiently. I rounded off the last corner and threw it aside with the other three, picking up the final piece of timber for the seat of the stool. And, once again, I assembled a new clod of grit paper and started to scratch the bark from the outside ring. The tedious act sustained another five minutes. Me rounding the corners, erasing the bark. My arms were throbbing and aching from the bobbing of my elbows. But I was almost done. The last thing I needed to do was smash four holes in the top section, exactly above where I wanted the legs to go. And puncture four locking metal-rods in place of those eight craters. The _click_ of the rods let me know that the leg was securely sealed in place. I repeated that three other times.  
It was done.  
 _Finally…_  
"Mission accomplished. What to do now?" I picked the stool up and shook it around, to make sure it was stable before plonking down beside Gally.  
"Dunno. You did a good job."  
"Thanks?"  
I sat on the newly-made stool and fiddled with the knife in my back pocket, skimming my fingers along the blade.  
Gally was doing the exact same thing, but with a chisel.

* * *

"So, How'd she do?" I stood outside the door of the Builders and Bricknicks shack. Only Gally and Newt were inside.  
I didn't want to listen in, but there was really no other choice, no other thing to listen to.  
"Well… incredible," Gally said, using no expression. "I didn't even have to tell her anything. She did it her shucking self. If she ain't fit for the running business, Building will be one of the valuable choices."  
I smiled to myself. I never thought I would be good at building. Nothing that concerned me. Come to think of it, the feeling of familiarity didn't waft past me. Did I ever try for jobs? And how did I gain the role of a Runner?  
God knew.  
 _If he existed_.  
I never wound myself up in tales and stories. They seemed pathetic, to me. Meant for children. And although I was a grown child, I wasn't one that needed a bedtime story every night.  
I jumped as I was snapped back to reality with the opening of the door.  
"Alright, I know I'm unpleasant to look at, but I ain't _scary_." Newt laughed in the process of clambering out the room, Gally at his heels.  
"Think again, you horror." He slapped me on the back and kept his hand there, just below my shoulder-blade, guiding to wherever it was we were going.  
"Food?" I asked. My stomach had been aching for it ever since Gally had brought it up, my mind wouldn't go that far to remember the last time I ate. Not to mention I desperately needed a shower. My stench blended in with everyone else's, though. I could last another day.  
"You bet, Greenie," Gally had begun to stroll in the completely opposite direction, his hands shoved as far in his pockets as they could go. I didn't question it, he was a weird kid.  
"You sound hungry."  
"I don't know what you're talking about," I assumed we were walking to the askew wooden building placed just beside the abnormal gathering hut.  
"So I guess I'm doing two more after whatever meal this is?" It was too late to be lunch, too early to be dinner. I had woken up late, though. By the sun, I would say it was four-thirty to five.  
"Yep. Tomorrow will be the buggin' same. Two in the morning, two in the afternoon. Then sleep."  
"The day after?"  
"Running. The trials, anyway,"  
He must've seen the look of pure joy that spread across my face, because the expression copied itself on his. I didn't know how much longer I could live without the Maze. I was going insane, If I wasn't enough already.  
"You look like you just got granted a million wishes all at once. What is it with you and that Maze?"  
 _What was It with me and that Maze?  
_ "Ask the Maze that. You'll get a better answer outta it. Because I honestly have no clue. I like running, I guess."  
"Why don't you just run around in circles?"  
"It's not the same feeling. Running around the Maze, testing your brain. Figuring which way is which, asking yourself 'have I been this way before?' Oh, and of course hanging with the Grievers." Newt chuckled.  
"You make it sound like the luxury it isn't,"  
It was a luxury, for me anyway. It's nice to get away from people and challenge yourself, free of questions and the squabble of realism.  
"Here." He let his arm drop from my back, only to open the door of the building and usher me in.  
"Look, I know I may not be the smartest, but I understand how doors work, kiddo." He flashed me a cheeky grin while I stepped through. The room was full of table-benches surrounded by separated boys. It smelt like the Devils shit, but I was used to it. I'd only ever met Frypan at the gathering, so I didn't get a proper chance to talk with him. And I was so hungry, I doubted I would then. My stomach would speak for me instead. The darker-skinned lad, Frypan, stood behind a poorly made counter, handing people mountains of slop that looked ridiculously edible in my state. "Welcome to the best shucking place in this Hellhole," Newt cautiously dragged me to the line of boys, waiting for their food to be delivered in the metal plates and bowls that they held. "There ya' go." Newt said, tossing me a 'plate'. By the looks of it, Frypan was offering green mush, red mush, brown bush and some stale bread to go with it. I could care less. I was _hungry_. And when I'm left hungry for a long period, I start to get testy.

* * *

The cue lasted two minutes, maybe three minutes, my stomach gnawing and scratching more by the second.  
"Ah, it's the buggin girl everyone's _still_ taking about!" The boy behind the stand half-shouted as the kid he just fed waddled along.  
"And, hello to you, Frypan, whom I've been waiting to get food from _personally_ for about a week."  
"Well, you lucky shank. Now whatca want? We have-"  
"Just- give me a mix of everything you have… _please_." I didn't need to persuade him further. Frypan began to slop the substance on my plate, and at that moment they couldn't look more appealing.  
"My kind of girl. Knows what she wants." He wasn't being serious, there was a look in his eyes when he handed me the plate, a glimmer.  
"I'm not anyone's type of girl. Trust me on that one." Frypan raised his bushy eyebrows at me while I took the plate, splashed with food. Newt grazed my arm when I started to walk away, sending shivers down my spine, causing me to freeze up and stand in the spot in which he touched me. Was this normal?  
"That table over there." More chills flooded through me as he whispered close to my ear and flabbily pointed his arm to the bench in the centre of the wooden room. I nodded and muttered an 'okay' back, unsure if it was even intelligible.  
Alby, Minho, Clint and a few others ate there, already engulfed in the mess in front of them.

* * *

"Welcome to the outside world, shuck-face. Glad you joined us. Took your time." Minho said. I sat across from him, almost throwing my tray down. Then myself.  
"Hungry?" Clint asked, almost maliciously. I had no interest in answering, only set on defeating the beast of hunger. So, I dug in.  
"Careful, shank. You eat that fast and it'll all come back up." I rolled my eyes at Minho's statement just at the point when Newt dumped himself in the seat next to mine. I slowed, nevertheless.  
It didn't taste as bad as it looked, but I wouldn't care if it tasted worse.  
"You're starving." No shit, Newt, you genius.  
"I'm not hungry. I just like eating at an extremely fast pace." I kidded, my mouth already full.  
The conversation during the meal consisted of mocking and jokes. Nothing serious came out from anyone besides Alby. But that was unfamiliarly rare. Some jokes about Sloppers and slint-heads. I wasn't fully tuned in to the mothers meeting. But I'm sure their gossip was thought-provoking.  
Although nothing exhilarating happened, the meal was enjoyable. And my stomach stopped rustling after I'd devoured everything on my plate.

* * *

"Next job." In the middle of an immature debate, Newt raised. Pushing his plate forward in doing so.  
"Fuck" I breathed out and lowered my head rapidly to the table. Boys laughed around me, pats on the back and sarcastic words of persuasion and inspiration. So, I got up, slumping just behind Newt, unready for anything to come next. I had only been awake (double) a couple of hours, and I was ready to crash-out on the layered sheets in Newts room. But, evidently, that was not how things were going to plan out.  
I headed for the door when Newt got caught up, talking to some lanky shank. _Damnit_. I said it again, 'Shank'. Although it was against my old Glade, which I rarely thought about, it was quite fun to say. I opened the egress, about to wait outside for Newt to come and collect me, as I had done for most of the day, and put my foot out.  
"Bloody hell, are you trying to escape? We're in here shank." Newt blatantly threw his arm towards the door behind Frypan's stall. So, we're cooking. Brilliant.  
"No, but now you say that…" I effortlessly kicked the door open wider, raising my eyebrows to tease the blond boy.  
"There's nowhere to go, unless you find an exit to the shucking Maze. Which seems impossible. Come on." He walked as he spoke, wrapping his hand around my wrist and practically heaving me across the floor to the back room.  
Frypan was already there, cleaning the cutlery in a tub of dirty, food-filled water.  
"She's cooking in here, yes?" Frypan said, without looking up. He tossed a bundle of metal eating instruments across the counter to his right, clashing with the others he had already thrown.  
"Yes," Newt confirmed, releasing my arm and turning for the exit, "don't break anything. Food is the only leisure we get." I nodded. Although, it wasn't a promise, because the probability of me breaking something was high. More than high.  
The door closed itself after he left, leaving only me, Frypan and the greasy plates.  
"Here, can you finish these? I'll observe."  
"Because washing _does_ need observing. It's a very dangerous sport." He let loose the metal plate he was scrubbing and wiped his hands down a filthy towel, with holes and chunks of god knows what in.  
"It's not a game, girl Greenie," Frypan leant against the back wall, furrowing his brows for me to take the place he was in a few seconds earlier. I did.  
"Oi, you're not getting away with no apron. Take mine. We don't have a spare one."  
In a matter of seconds, it was in my hands and I was scrubbing away at the dishes. I struggled to comprehend how Frypan did this all day. For _three_ meals a day. It seemed exhausting, yet he was looking as alive as ever. Or would be if it weren't for the cold face he had set on. He appeared to be very serious about his job.  
The clumped food got under my nails, stuck to my skin. It itched. But I knew if I didn't complain and did it hastily, it would be over before I knew it.

* * *

The last bowl.  
Finally.  
I lifted it out the brown water and dumped it to the side. They looked clean enough.  
"I've done." I sighed, mopping my stained hands down the front of his apron.  
"Dry them."  
"What?"  
"You heard me."  
I caught the cloth Frypan threw me, the same one he had used previously. It looked as if it was the only one he owned.  
It wasn't as tedious as washing, but it was a waste of time. The boys weren't going to be eating until tomorrow, so why not let them dry on their own accord?  
"What's your _real_ name?" I asked as I cleaned. There were some solid, tacky pieces of slosh that I hadn't managed to brush off when in the water, so I picked at them until they fell.  
"My real name? What do you mean?"  
"Surely it can't be Frypan. I haven't met a lot of people, from what I can remember, but I assure you, none were called Frypan." I stacked the plates, bowls and bundled the utensils together, making it easier for me to tell which ones I'd dried.  
"Siggie. I came to the Glade knowing my name was Siggie. But I got the nickname Frypan when I started cooking."  
"Still sounds silly." I muttered, adding another bowl to the pile.  
"Excuse me? Well then, your name isn't any better."  
I frowned, whirling around and shoving the towel to one side.  
"How so? Amelia is… common."  
"Exactly. You're common. Typical. I bet all girls are like you, no different."  
"I'll have you know that in my old Glade, all the girls were individual and had unique personalities. Mine being the best." But I didn't know that, did I?  
"I'm sure. _Common_. You're just normal. You have to use nicknames to cover up your blandness. Lee. You could have Amy," I stuck my tongue out at that one, not to him but at the name. I've never liked it. "Mia, Milli, Elli, Ami," he paused to think. "Mel, Mila, Lia," I was smiling up until that point. He listed many other names, but I had neglected his words. My eyes stung as I failed to remember Marnie's face and features. I had left the paper with her portrait on in Newts room. But I could still remember her nurturing voice that sung to me when I was angered, upset or tired. I wanted to reach out in my mind and touch her and let her touch me. But now we were apart, and I wondered for a millisecond if she was even real, if she was ever there in the first place. If my mind was playing tricks on me.  
I was snapped back to reality with the feeling of cold water on my face and arms. Frypan cowered over me, his once moisture-less hands covered in the water that sat behind me.  
"Shank, did your mind go for a stroll? It looked like you were contemplating life behind those eyes. Seriously though, are you okay?" I bowed my head slowly and turned my back to him to finish the job he had set me.  
"Yeah. I'm fine. Sometimes I tune out. Sorry."  
"It's… alright?"  
Something cold trickled down my cheek. A tear. I hadn't felt the sensation of crying in an extensive time. But did it count as crying if only one drop came? I didn't wipe it, just let it fall into the soapy water beneath me. Letting it be with the grime. And out of the corner of my eye, I saw Frypan staring blankly at me, with some sort of pity dangling over him.  
Pity that I didn't deserve.

* * *

"So, last event of the day."  
"I wouldn't call it an event. Events are supposed to be fun." We were walking to the woods, near the 'Deadheads'. Or whatever they called them.  
"You're not having fun?" Newt questioned. I couldn't tell if he was being genuine or not. Of course, I wasn't having fun, the only thrilling part of the day was lunch. And… maybe chatting with Gally.  
"Oh, no. Where did you get that impression? I'm having a hoot,"  
He rolled his eyes at me, sighing.  
"Keep rolling your eyes. Maybe you'll find a brain back there."  
"Sarcasm is the bloody last refuge of the imaginatively bankrupt."  
"No, sarcasm is the brains natural defense against the less intelligent."  
"Alright, alright. I'm not going to argue with you over something stupid. We're nearly there anyway."  
"Oh, yeah. What is it I'm doing?"  
"The Slicers. Winston is Keeper of 'em. Because Frypan is a wuss, the Slicers get the meat for him."  
"So, I'm going to slaughter some animals? For food?" He nodded and shot me a smile. I couldn't recall ever killing an animal in my life. But it shouldn't be that hard. They're mostly all smaller… weaker.  
"Frypan said you did well." I was washing and drying dishes, how hard could it be?  
" _Don't,_ and I mean _don't_ make me a cook. I can't cook. I know I can't. I was doing the washing-up, not cooking. Anyone can fibre things barren from water."  
"Alright. I'll keep that in mind,"  
Although I couldn't recollect cooking in my old Glade, I just felt the ghastliness taste in my mouth of something I'd created. The Slicers 'base' was across a small stream in one corner of the Glade. Luckily, me and Newt could easily step across it, as we both had long legs. It got wider as it flowed down, I was just thankful we didn't head that way. I had never been a big fan of water, especially open-span lakes or streams.  
"There." Newt pointed through the trees to a boy, Winston, who I had only seen once. At the Gathering. Fortunately, he didn't give the impression of another Alby, though. Nothing could be as tiresome as Alby.  
He waved and gave a warm smile, which Newt returned.  
" **Hey**!" He shouted. There was a tied-up chicken by his side, the rope leading to a rusty brown pole shoved into the ground.  
"I'll leave you here. Good luck, don't go too hard on the killing." Newt slid around the logs, the crunch of the leaves under his feet getting further and further away.

* * *

"I'm guessing Newt told you what you're shucking doing then?" I gained on him, my hands buried deep into the pockets of my ripped jeans. When I came up in the box, I'm sure they weren't torn. My feet were covered in the mud and splinters as I hadn't bothered to slide my shoes on that morning.  
"You guessed right. I just want to get it over and done with, then I can sleep."  
I stopped when I attained the patch of scythed grass where he stood. There, laid sharp equipment. Most silver and some stained with blood. Coops settled behind us, full of chickens, pigs and one or two cows. None of which were separated from the other. And it smelt… _extreme_.  
"Okay then, Greenie. This is the victim. His name is Alexander, Hammy for short."  
"Oh, why do you have to give it a name? That makes it all the more harder to kill the poor thing." My voice groaned itself, cracking in doing so.  
Winston kneeled, picking up a brown, blood-stained tool. The edges showed that they used to be sharp, but the bluntness made me cringe a little. Picturing the animal being slowly sliced to death with a rusty instrument shook me.  
"It's called a Burr. Amazing instrument, really. Shove it in the top of the head, and **bam**! It's out. Then you can cut into it. Shuckin' pleasant, ain't it?"  
I grinned, taking the appliance and fidgeting it around my fingers. It was unusual to hold, thin and spread-out. But still small.  
"I'll hold it still." Winston picked the brown chicken up and held it on his lap once he had sat on a stump to the left of him.  
"So," I exhaled, "I just, um- stab it in its head."  
He nodded.  
"As deep as it can go without you losing it in the shanks brain,"  
I kneeled to the side of the boy and hovered the weapon above the animals head. He flickered a reassuring look, enough to give me the momentum to quickly insert the thing into the tip of the chicken's body. It wrestled in Winston's arm, but his hands were in all the right places to keep it fixed. I didn't close my eyes, I forced them to stay wide, so I didn't cause the flightless bird any more pain.  
It gave a last wheeze before the thing went limp.  
And instead of feeling bad, like I thought I would, it gave me feeling of hysteria. I tried to conceal it, yet the smile, I couldn't hide.  
"Not a wuss, I see. I've had Green Beans cry at my feet before. No one's ever _smiled_." I did grasp an inch of sympathy, not because I killed the thing, but for smiling because of it.  
Winston raised, his fingers wrapped around the chicken's neck and wandered towards the barn. I followed shortly after.

* * *

"Now, we skin it," we were then sat in the coop, at a long bench near the back. The lifeless chicken delicately placed on my lap. "You _can_ pluck the feathers off it, but that takes time. So, let's just cut the top layer of skin off." Prior to the skinning, Winston made me axe the head and bottom quarter of it, leaving it for the bonfire that night. Which seemed to spring up randomly.  
I gripped a cleaner tool and began to part a thin layer from its decapitated body. It made me feel sick at first, the way the apparatus cut so smoothly. But it was the only one that would do the job.  
Soon enough, the task that was set had been achieved. A pile of skin rest behind me, bundled with feathers and spotted blood.  
"What now?" I asked, giving him back the thing I had used to cut the chicken with.  
"No, you keep it. You need to turn it over and make a line down it's middle. Then take out the shucking organs one by one."  
It wasn't engaging, this activity, but better than washing up or making people feel their best of selves. Jamming the sharp silver into the animal, I found out its chest wasn't as thin as I thought it would be, so it took some digging.  
"So, I just… stick my hands in?"  
"Yep."  
Its skin stretched around my fingertips as I slowly bore into it. The chicken was cold and contrasted with my warmth. My left hand was now fully submerged in the clean-cut I had made. It encaged something ovular, and as my fingers skimmed to the right, I found it connecting to another, same-shaped organ. Lungs, I thought. Lucky that I'd worked with the Med-jacks this morning, then. I tugged at them, but they wouldn't let loose. Releasing my hand from the chicken, I reached for a smaller knife that Winston had brought in and threw my hand back into it, chopping the cord thing holding them together, then I was able to bring them out. I was covered in blood. My shirt, ruined. And I didn't have any other clothes. I'd have to borrow some from someone.

* * *

I repeated this multiple times until it was uncluttered of everything it once had. Winston looked pleased, which is what my objective was. I think.  
"I'll give this to Frypan tonight, dinner tomorrow. At least we won't get the normal mush we get when I don't do my job correctly."  
"Then do your job correctly." I brushed myself free of feathers and drops of blood that still hadn't set. We both got to our feet and left the body of the chicken behind, along with the blood-stained instruments.  
I exited the coop to the open air, where Newt was trudging his way up to collect me. I knew I was going to have to wait for him while he was talking for Winston, but I couldn't do any more lingering around. I needed a shower and new clothes before I got any more uncomfortable.  
Setting off, I let Newt know where I was going. He allowed me. Even if he didn't, I'd go anyway.

* * *

The Glade was pact full of sweaty boys. It looked like the Runners had just made it back. Must be near six, I thought.  
"Oi, it's girl Greenie," Minho shouted, bouncing up to where I ranked with a smirk plastered on his face. "Oh," He stopped in front of me, flashing his eyes down to my shirt, "I knew it was only a matter of time before you killed someone. Who was it?"  
"A chicken. But I wish it were you. What do you want, youngster?"  
"Can't a guy just talk to one of his buddy's? How'd the jobs go?" He shrugged his pack off and dumped it on the ground.  
"I pray for it to be over, now. But I still have four more to go until I'm in the Maze. Anyway, can't stay for long. I need a shower."  
"I'll gladly have one with you. I need one as well." He winked, the grin remaining. Made me wonder if it ever took a break.  
"No thanks. Pretty sure I know how showers work. Thanks for the offer, though. I'm guessing they're with the toilets?"  
"Yeah. Just behind. Towels are already there. Oh, and don't go in the end ones. They don't lock properly."  
"Thanks." I left to set off for the place Minho had pointed out. Then I spun on my heels, he hadn't moved, thankfully. I forgot I needed something, and he was there, so-  
"Do you have a spare shirt? Mines covered in blood and I don't want Gally to accuse me of stabbing a 'man' to death." He laughed, picking up the pack he only just set down.  
"I'll see what I can find, Greenie."  
We then parted, running to wherever we each needed to go.

* * *

The water that came from the shower-head was cold, freezing almost. My bear arms intertwined, but it did nothing against the chill. Hair was knotted and stuck to my neck, skin was grimy. But at least I began to feel more complacent than I was. I managed to wash off most of the blood, but some of it still hung around. Mainly because it belonged to me and a small scab that lurched somewhere on my body. The shower eventually stopped without me telling it to, so I raveled myself in the comfort of the towel and turned the stiff lock on the door.  
My clothes lay just outside. There was no table-top I could put them on, so they were dumped on the ground. I rustled through my clothes, because, as from above, I couldn't catch the glimpse of my white, bloody shirt. I untensed when I lifted a cotton blue tee out of the jumble of clothes. Minho must've snuck in and left it there for me. One of the only nice things he's done for me so far. I simpered at that fact. I attempted coming my hair down with my fingers and nails, but it wouldn't do much swiftly. I stood there, dragging my hands through my hair for about five minutes. Not completely satisfied with it, once I had done. But it was better than nothing. And the world knew how little I cared about my looks or how people perceived me.  
Before I knew it, I was out. The fire already lit, and the scattered boys were now huddled in one area.  
And as I strolled to join them, I began to feel more and more at home in each step I took.

 **Hello Friends!  
** **I've been working on this chapter for six days! I don't think I've ever gotten a chapter out this fast.  
** **School is dawning on us. ARG!  
I'm not excited...  
Plus, is it bad I'm making Amelia Chloe Frazer from Uncharted and Newt Nadine?  
This chapter is for all my Hamilton fans out there! I know your there. I included a few sneaky lines from 'Satisfied' when Gally and Amelia are chit-chatting. And I called the chicken Alexander, with the knife that killed him being named 'Burr'.  
I FREAKIN LOVEE HAMILTON.  
It's amazing.  
I learnt to rap guns and ships a week ago now and I amaze everyone with my talent.  
I'M TAKIN THIS HORSE MY THE REINS MAKIN RED COATS REDDER WITH BLOOD STAINS  
LAFAYETTE!  
If you don't know what is, I'm terribly sorry. But you should listen to the soundtrack because it is the most amazing thing known to man.  
Seriously.  
Anyway, I'm going to go watch Lost and scream Charliieeee.  
** **(P.S. Charlie and Claire are the best characters and the best couple, end of.)  
Buhyyy!  
(P.P.S. Ben you creepy old man, get off my fanfiction XD. I'm joking, of course I love you.)**


	8. Stolen Kisses

**"Butterflies come and go for a reason."  
** **-Natasha Bleek**

 **231.12.12 | 8:34 A.M.**

I slumped over, in my (Minho's) over-sized blue tee. More and more logs got lobbed on by jeering boys, making the fire grow burly. I was tried, so shucking tired.  
 _Damnit_.  
Alby gave me a not-so-warm smile, differing from Newt's.  
My arm evolved Goosebumps. It didn't help that the shirt I wore was short-sleeved.  
 _Thanks Minho, could've given me something more practical_.  
Thankfully, I warmed as I neared the crackling fire.  
"That's not your shirt." Newt said as I slid down behind a log to sit with him and Minho.  
"You're so good at making observations, young one." I sighed, taking up a drink Minho offered me. I didn't care what it was, I needed alcohol.  
"That's what I always tell him. Points out the obvious like it's something important." Minho took a chug of his drink, Newt had one too but held it in-between his thighs.  
"Most of the time, the obvious thing is important. And since when did you two form a clique and pick up bullying?"  
"I've bullied for a long time, buddy boy," I lifted the drink I held, placing the mug between my lips and tilting my head back.  
I swallowed.  
"Hey, this isn't alcohol." And it was vile, too. The taste stung and lingered like someone hanging off a cliff for too long.  
"Alcohol? Of course, that isn't alcohol. And you make fun o' me for pointing out the shucking obvious." The two laughed at my frown and scrunched face in the act of me putting the drink to one side, holding it like a disgusting rodent.  
"I'm confused. You don't have alcohol?"  
"What? Did you?" Newt asked, a hint of jealousy flashing across his face for a split second.  
"Yes. At least… I think." Or else why would I have brought it up?  
"Unfair! You guys had a shucking party over there!" Minho swung his arms up and out before him, limply punching the air.  
"I wouldn't call it a party, shank, we di-"  
I paused in the middle of my sentence and lunged my head towards my palm. I said it again. "Damn. I gotta stop doing that." I sighed, naturally picking up my drink and taking another gulp, then spitting it back out.  
"Just relax. If it comes naturally, it comes naturally. It's not a sin. Means you're becoming one of us." Newt didn't even make a face when he took a swig.  
"Fine. I guess you're right. _Shank_."  
"Now, that wasn't shucking natural."  
I pulled my legs up towards my chest, even near the fire it was chilly. Silence passed us each for a few minutes. I learnt to bear the taste of the brown liquid in that matter of time. I was thirsty, not being able to retrace if I had a drink at lunch.  
"Do you think if I send the suggestion of alcohol down the side of the box, the creators will send us some?"  
"Minho!" Newt gasped, waking his friend in the side of his knee.  
"I'm sure they would." I replied, grinning at the face Newt wore. It was a mixture between 'No, no way,' and ' _Maybe?_ '  
"Lee, we can't do that! Alby will kill us! There's so many bad, _terrible_ things that could come with this! Like the boys could pick up fighting, break-"  
"Alright, alright. I won't send down a suggestion." Minho sounded slightly amused. He gave a wink to me whilst hovering the mug over his lips. I released a small laugh through my teeth, to which Newt frowned at me.  
"You're weird."  
"Where are you going with that?" I asked. My drink was almost empty. Half of it had ended up on the floor, but that didn't change anything.  
"Nowhere. Just wanting you to know. By the way, we have more of that bloody stuff. Shank, didn't you bring more out?" He turned his towards Minho, but he had already picked up another, showing an array of copper cups full to the brim. Minho put his top lip over the new mug and drank so it wouldn't overspill. He bowed his head down and his eyebrows raised, asking me if I was ready for something. I didn't know what, but hell was I prepared.  
The drink.  
He threw the drink at me.  
I caught it, obviously. It started to fizz and flow out over the edges, though, so I hung it over Newt's legs. He pulled them up and began to swat my hand away as fast as he could.  
"Stop it! You guys are a shucking joke! Seriously, that could've spilt all over me."  
"Guess what, it didn't!" I laughed, downing some more.  
"We would never let it spill on you Newt. I only threw it because my arm is so short and I didn't want to hurt you, reaching over you and all."  
"Slim-it, Minho. Next time pass it. Right?"  
"Good that." He replied, shaking his head when Newt wasn't looking.  
"Hey guys. Hey Amelia!" Chuck bounced over, holding the same substance in his mug, but the mug was smaller.  
"Oh for fuc-" Minho started. Newt kicked him hard in the side, so he was unable to finish. Chuck sat himself on the low-laid log I was sitting behind, so his head was level with mine.  
"Hey, buddy. Haven't seen you today. How you doing?" My hand flew to his calf twice consecutively, almost like a pat.  
"Good. Sid let me take a break today because I've been working so hard! And I was meant to be cleaning the toilets. Guess I got outta that one."  
"That's great. What's your job again?" Newt and Minho had started their own conversation now, neither interested in what Chuck had to say.  
"I'm a Slopper." He said it with no pride, but no blunder, either.  
"Huh. I suppose I'll be trying out for them tomorrow, right?"  
"Oh… about that…" His fingers ran around each other, and the eye-contact we once shared disappeared.  
"What? _Chuck._ "  
"I lied. I haven't been working hard, yesterday I fell asleep on someone's bed when washing out the shucking pee-pots. I didn't clean the bathrooms because you have to."  
 _Fuck_.  
"I'm not doing that. I just had a shower and the cubicles were the most unpleasant thing I had to look at so far. That's saying something, slint-head. Thinking of scrubbing the walls makes me gag." I saw Minho break his gaze from Newt and pass me a grin, probably at my use of 'slint-head'.  
"Sorry. It's for the job, shank."  
"Yeah, well, if it's for the job. I'll do anything for a job." I gave, in the most sarcastic tone I could.  
"You're lying. You don't care. I can tell." Chuck squinted, scanning my scrunched face.  
"God, the kids in this Glade are incredibly intelligent," I retorted back, taking yet another swig of the strange drink.  
"What's even in this detestable slosh?" I asked, swishing the liquid around in the glass.  
"Frypan's own recipe. He says it's secret. But I heard he put algae in it." Chuck laid his drink on the ground as he said it, a disgusted look on his face.  
"Forget algae, I saw him put guts in it," Minho laughed in-between words, yet he didn't set his drink aside. "Cuts Sloppers bodies and stirs em up, nice and good. Getting ready for us shanks to drink away."  
"Minho, don't joke about that, aight? Chucks bloody klunking himself. And with the all deaths, it just ain't respectful." Newt finished his first glass, while I was finishing the second.  
"I'm not klunking my pants! I know he's joking." But Chucks face told another story.  
"Wait, what I want to about know is _the deaths_. What deaths? Were they gruesome?" I shuffled my way closer to the two older boys, biting my lip in excitement. Maybe a bit _too_ much excitement. Too much so that Newt gave me a distrustful look, which is not what I wanted.  
"Ahem. I mean, I don't want to know. Rest in peace, those poor souls."  
"Stop being mean, Amelia. It's not funny. This whole shucking situation we're in isn't funny. Whoever or whatever is doing this to us are horrible things. Is this how you would react if I died?" My face relaxed into an emotionless one when Chucks question sunk into me. I didn't really know how I'd react.  
"No! Buddy, never. You're right, I shouldn't act like that. And when we get out of this cesspool, I'll be sure to avenge everyone that has died."  
"How?" Chuck questioned, looking more concerned than he had ever.  
"I'll kill the creators." It was said so calmly, but how else was I meant to say it?  
"You're bloody crazy."  
"The best people are."

"Did you really mean that?" Everyone had gone to bed, it was just me and Newt. We'd stayed up longer than everyone, me, Newt and Minho. But we had to scurry to our rooms when Alby came strolling over to ruin our chat about cheese.  
"Mean what, kiddo?" I kicked the door shut to see Newt already spread out across his hammock.  
"Don't call me kiddo. I'm probably older than you."  
"Mean what, kiddo?" I repeated, falling limply onto the uncomfortable bundle of quilts.  
"You said that when you get out of the Maze, you would kill the people that put us here. Will you?"  
"Yes. Whoever or whatever is doing this to us deserves it. Evil bastards."  
"Language." He joked, eyes glistening, glaring at the folded wooden planks above him.  
"Fine, _mum_."

There was silence shared between us for a while, I couldn't tell if he was trying to go to sleep, as I was. Didn't want to seem creepy, though, staring at him. But I was hard not to.  
"Lee?"  
"Mhm"  
"Remember when you said to Frypan 'I'm not anyone's type of girl'?"  
"Mhm"  
"Well. You're mine."  
"Oh."  
Then I turned, away from him, and faced the wall.

" _I freaking hate my hair."  
I had only just come back from the Maze, 6:35. Marnie waited for me, as she always did, six days of the week.  
"What?! I love it! It's so… you."  
"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or not." She giggled, grazing her nails over the scar on her hand.  
So goddamn cute.  
"A compliment, definitely."  
I tugged at her sleeve and she laced her fingers in mine.  
"It just gets in the way when I'm running, even with my hair up. It's impractical. And I hate it."  
"Yeah, you mentioned loathing it."  
We trudged through the Glade together, set on the inland on the other end of the Maze Wall.  
"It'd be so easy to just… buzz it off-"  
"Nope, nope. Not letting you do that. As your girlfriend, it's forbidden."  
"Forbidden? You know that makes me want to do it more."  
"Yes. I know. You sure are an Icer."  
"You got that right. But I do want to do something about it- I mean, even with my hair up it swings in my face. You don't know how many times I ran into walls today."  
"I'm betting over six hundred"  
"very close, young one. Very close."  
I nodded at Angie as we passed her. She was chatting with Sonya and Joe, wandering off to god-knows-where. If anything happened to Marnie, one of them would become second-in-command. Provided that Harriet could favourites, it would be them. But Marnie came up first, so she took the cake.  
"Well, you know, if you spite your hair as you say you do, I could easily cut it off. Not all of it, obviously, but a lot of it. Maybe shoulder length."  
My hair at the time fell down the arch of my back and lay above my hips. When I came up in the box, I was told to have short hair, something like a pixie-cut. But I'd been growing it out for two years, and it grew fast.  
"Last time you cut someone's hair, Marnie, the fringe was slanted and it was more uneven than my life-choices."  
"Hey! It's not my fault Beth won't sit nubbin' still. She's like a worm, wriggling about."  
"That sounds like Beth."  
I kicked open the double-door to the inlands, gesturing for Marnie to enter before me. Such a gentlewoman.  
"So?"  
"So what?"  
"Are you going to let me cut your hair?"  
"Hell no."  
"Have Hope, Lia."_

 _We spent two hours, sitting in our room, talking. As we almost always did when I got back from running. Sometimes we chatted about cheese, sometimes we chatted about something deeper. And the other times, we just… kissed.  
And now was the time for that.  
She sat sideways on my lap, my hair in her hands and her face in mine. Her lips were warm, welcoming. Whereas mine, as I was told, were harsh and rough. But when the two contrasted, it made one of the greatest feelings in the world. I got butterflies whenever we began, and she left me wanting more when we stopped.  
I was in the moment, completely blind to anything going on around me, and I thought she was too. Apparently not.  
Marnie had other ideas.  
I separated our mouths when I heard a click and a snip coming from behind me, proceeding with something falling down the back of my shirt, tickling my back.  
"Marn, what the fuck was that?"  
She had the same look on her face that she always put on when mischievous deeds were being played.  
"I cut your hair." She almost sang in her angelic voice, pushing herself off my lap and spinning around to stand behind the I sat on, in front of Marnie's home-made vanity table.  
"No! Marnie!"  
"What? You wanted it!"  
"Yeah, but not by you. Doesn't Sally do the haircutting in the Glade?"  
"Yes, but now it's my turn. Now stay still."  
She re-positioned my shoulders, and cupped my face in her hands to turn them the correct way. I could see, out of the corner of my eye, the chunk of hair she had snipped while we were kissing.  
The bitch.  
"I hate you, you know that?" I told her, although doing what she asked of me. Because I didn't hate her, I loved her.  
"The feeling mutual, my friend. Now shush. I want to get this right. How short do you want it?"  
"Wha- you just told me to shush."  
"Oh my god-forsaken life, you're so difficult."  
"That's what everyone says!"  
"Because it's true! Now tell me how short."  
"Gee, I don't know, here,"  
I placed my index finger just above my shoulder.  
"And make it thicker, if you can. It's too thin at the moment."  
"Alright, when did you become Miss. Demanding?"  
"Since you decided to flipping cut my hair off! Now, get going. I'm not sitting here for hours."  
She laughed, fiddling with my hair, looking at me in the mirror.  
"You're funny when you're mad."  
"I'm not mad, Marnie. I'm just frustrated that I have to sit here for another fifty hours," I paused, "and, I am always funny."  
"Sure thing, sugar-lump."  
There was another snip, then another. And soon we were on full blow, Marnie telling me off for wriggling too much, and me shooting snide remarks back.  
From what I saw, it didn't look so bad, though. That was one positive.  
Marnie kept repositioning my face and my body, like she was a professional. Or was trying to be. But it was sorta working._

 _Twenty minutes passed, and she had done half of my head. Faster than I had expected. Marnie swivelled me around, the heels of the chair screeching on the hardwood beneath.  
"Ah, hello there. Haven't seen you in a while," She giggled, brushing my shoulders clean of split-ended, two-year-old hair. "I can't see the mirror anymore, so you betta make it hella good."  
"It doesn't matter if it looks bad. More than half the girls praise you like you're their God. And the other, lesser half thinks you're insane, they're just jealous. You walk out there, right now, this uneven hair will be a new kind of trend."  
"And what half do you fit in to? Do you think I'm God itself or that I'm nubbin' freaky?"  
"I'm a little bit o' both, I suppose."  
"Well, I think I'm a God."  
"Of course you would."  
"Hole-it and make me look like a pretty princess."  
She giggled again and lightly kissed the tip of nose.  
"Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without you, Lia. I think I'd go insane. Or die."  
"If I pass, don't commit suicide, Marn."  
"No, I wouldn't. I'd just… die."  
"Brill."_

 _Surprisingly, Marnie had managed to make it thicker, and, obviously shorter. But not as bad as I originally thought it was going to be. The whole time, she wore a huge grin. Only when I was feeling soft would I let her touch and stroke my hair, so this was a dream for her.  
Although she couldn't cut hair, she could definitely style it, braid it. It was incredible how many perfectly placed knots you can fit in your hair.  
It was a second twenty minutes before we had finished, and nearly every girl had gone to bed.  
It was a Wednesday.  
Everyone knows Wednesday is the worst day of the week in the Glade.  
The worst meals, the worst run. And frankly, the saddest thing is that there's no fights.  
Boring.  
"Okay, you can turn and look in the mirror now. I've finished."  
"Do I want to? Maybe it's better for me to sleep. Forever."  
"Oh, hole-it. It looks good, you stick."  
She wasn't lying.  
I span to see me. But not me.  
The hair I had acquainted for so long had evolved into a short, thick, curled bundle of blonde waves.  
It looked gorgeous then, but I knew, with the Maze, it wasn't to stay that way.  
"Woah." Was all I said. And all I could say.  
"See, I told you it would look alright."  
"Alright? Sure, it's 'alright'. I just want to know how Beth's hair turned out like a dead racoon."  
"Because she wouldn't work with me. Beth kept shuffling and fidgeting with the knife."  
Marnie had her own custom knife I made for her. Everyone possessed knives in the Glade. But Marn refused.  
So, I made her one. And she had to take it.  
The thing was only small (like her) but Marnie used it for everything.  
She insisted on me taking it to the Maze when I run.  
Not that I needed any more knives, but it was sweet how she always wanted to be with me.  
"I guess that does make sense."  
"You're both as bad as each other when it comes to sitting still. You were fine, though. This time."  
"This time?"  
"Yes. I now crown myself your full-time professional hairdresser."  
"Um-"  
"No refusing."  
"Right…"_

Unfortunately, she never got to cut my hair again.

I arose to Newts hand in my hair, and his other on my shoulder, lightly shaking me awake.  
"Hi." I simply said, with my groggy morning voice.  
"Hey," we sat there for a moment, me half-staring at him, since I was only half-awake.  
"Sorry if I scared you the other day, with the pile of klunk I blurted out."  
"I completely forgot about it."  
I lied. It was the only thing on my mind when I woke.  
"Oh. Well, I gained your reaction, and I suppose it was shucking creepy."  
"No, it wasn't. It was sweet. Thanks. And, I'm sorry about how I reacted, tiredness got the better of me."  
He gave a sweet smile and dragged his fingers off my shoulder, his hand out of my hair prior to raising.  
"Up bright and early today, you gotta go around, do more job type shit" he said, throwing the covers off my body.  
"No thanks."  
"What do you mean 'no thanks'? There's no getting out of this one, shank. Just think, as soon as you finish this, the Maze'll be there waitin' for you."

That's the thing that got me up from the floor and into the Glade, Newt by my side. Fist job of the day: Baggers.  
No one had told me much about this subject, but I guessed it revolved around dead people. Which was my forte.  
The room where it happened was in the Deadheads, once again.  
It didn't take long for us to attain the concrete structure, or it didn't seem so. Conversation took over the tedious walking.  
Once we got there, Newt abandoned me with Daemon, who had a very deep voice and was one of the tallest in this cesspool of pre-pubescent teenage boys.  
He practically guided me through how to take care of a dead body ( _but they're dead so I didn't and still don't understand why you have to 'take care of the left-overs'_ ) and how to burry one, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Daemon led me to a part that I'd never explored before, the Graves. There were, surprisingly, a lot of them. One dead boy caught my attention, though. There was only half of him, the top half, and underneath it read:  
"Let this half-shank be a warning to all: You can't escape through the Box Hole."  
I chuckled to myself, I knew I shouldn't, but I did. Who's stupid enough to attempt going _back down_ in the Box.

Idiot.  
The whole thing was pretty self-explanatory. He didn't teach me anything I didn't already know, but it was fun all the same.

Shortly after, I was onto the next, the Bricknicks run by a lanky kid named Jonathan, all it consisted of was me running laps to get equipment for the Builders. Completely boring, and almost every run I forgot something, meaning I had to go back.

Then came the Track-hoes. Same thing as for the Bricknicks, but for the runners instead. So, it was a tad more enjoyable.  
But still sucked ass.  
Although, some interesting information was revealed.  
Apparently, the Runners had underwear, _special_ underwear, only for the High and Mighty. Bloody brilliant. Zart went into a little much detail about why they had them, though.

It was the middle of the day once I was taken to the last destination; the one I had been dreading the most.  
Sloppers.  
The fact I had to clean the bathroom was way too domestic for me, but it both looked and smelt disgusting.  
Sid met me there, a soapy bucket of water and sponge in hand. I reluctantly took it, a few snide remarks shot his way, too, and began to scrub.  
"How long ago was this hellhole cleaned?"  
"Like two weeks ago," Sid said.  
"You said two years wrong, kid."  
The showers tops had stands of hair in it, making me gag as I picked the gunk up and away. All the while, Sid stood there, laughing.  
So, once I was done, I threw all the shit I'd collected and threw it at him.  
"Ah, my hand slipped. I'm _not_ sorry."  
I pulled a face, and stepped out from the dingy cubicles. _  
_  
"You look dishevelled." Newt said, laying his hand on my shoulder.  
"Yeah. Thanks. You're so sweet. I'm just glad that it's over."  
"Congratulations! You made it through. The day after tomorrow, you'll be in the Maze. With… Minho," he said the last bit with slight despise.  
"Anyway, it's dinner. You coming?"  
"Oh, no. I'm full up, having worked all day. Yes, dingbat, I'm coming!"  
They began to walk, the canteen being on the other end of the Glade.  
"We still need to calve your name in the buggin' wall."  
"That's a thing? Whose idea was that?" _ironic._  
"Yeah. It's like if we had school, morning register. But on a wall. And if you must know, George: a dead shank thought it up. Ain't it smart?"  
"I guess."  
"There's a gathering tonight, 'bout you and jobs and shit. I'm not gonna shucking listen-"  
"bloody rebel"  
"Only because I know you're going to be a great runner, Lee," Newt sighed, his hands deep inside his pockets, "but I'll coming with you for your name satanic ritual klunk. Because I'm a good boy-"  
I thought it was going to go further than boy, but he seemed to stop himself suddenly.  
"Aye, you are. Hey, I'll race you to the shucking place" I had already set off prior to speaking.  
"Not fair!"  
(I won)

"Hello shank." Minho laughed as I plonked myself down.  
"Gooday, sir." Frypan served _leaves._ Well, it was salad, but what's the point of salad if it doesn't fill you, nor taste nice? Newt sat beside me, his leg grazing mine when he slowly sat. He quickly shuffled away at the touch, leaving me stifling a giggle.  
"It's over," Alby smiled, "the jobs, I mean. Apparently, you didn't do so well."  
"No, correction: it is apparent that I didn't do well."  
"Dude, I don't even know the difference." Minho said, shoving orange tomatoes in his mouth."  
"Are you serious?" Clint asked, scoffing, "I'm not even going to start telling you what it means. The amount of literature I've taught you over these past two years is astonishing."  
"Shut up. The amount of… _cool_ stuff you know from me is astonishing, be thankful, shank." Minho didn't stop eating. After a day in the Maze, I knew what it felt like. Or did I?

More light felt arguments played on as the lunch deepened. And continuously, I felt a heavy stare, but I pushed it off. I wondered, as they talked, if there would be a girl to come up next, that the Glade was done with boys and ready to begin with girls. Maybe then I would have someone to talk about _shit_ with. I mentioned this with the boys, but they shrugged it off. I would've done too.

"Me and Lee are off to chisel her name. I'll see you guys at the gathering." Newt stood up, grabbing my hand to lift me, too.  
"Alright." Minho sounded grumpy, when two minutes before he was as happy as ever. Again, _mood swings_ I thought. He had them worse than a dying child on a bouncy castle. I found it best to leave him to sulk.

We walked for a while, his hand lingering in mine for a few minutes before I gave him a look, and he quickly released. We stopped by Gally who gave us the chisel, and set off for a wall, one of many.

"Just simply put your name in the wall," Newt said, leaning against the coolness of the stone brick.  
"Fuck me gently with a chainsaw. Do I look like mother Teresa? I can't do this klunk." He sniggered, but I'm still unsure at which part.  
"Aight, you ain't gonna die."  
"Knowing me, yes, dig my grave now."  
"Drama Queen."  
"That title goes to Minho. So, I just put this in?"  
"Go ahead."  
The flattened end pushed into the stone almost too smoothly.  
"Arg! I just got chills."  
"From what? Me or the dot you made?" Just as Newt said it, I felt an arm grip around my waist, which made me shiver even more.  
"Honestly, both," His grip tightened. And I didn't know how to feel.  
"You gonna hold me like that whilst I bang this wall? That's dedication."  
"That doesn't sound right, pick your shucking words wisely."  
"Trust me, Kiddo, I do," I knocked another whole, and dragged it down, this time it wasn't so smooth. "Why does my name have to be such a long one? Four syllables. Jeez. Not even counting my last name. I'm sure it's something ridiculous like… _Theodosia_."  
"What?"  
Another, diagonal line stroke down, with a little in-between.  
"An 'A'. I'm so proud of you, Lee."  
"Yeah. Me too. Not dead yet. But, five letters to go."  
"This shouldn't take long." He gripped my wrist and plunged it in the wall.  
"Oi. I'm capable."  
"Sure."

Ten minutes later, my name was scruffily written, but not as scuffled as some of the boys' names.  
"It's..."  
"Ugly, streaky, unproportionate?" I asked, my arms crossed to prevent my fingers falling off.  
"Beautiful," he paused, "just like you."  
"Neither are beautiful. That's more like a murder scene, only not written in blood. And, I'm the victim of said murder."  
"Not true."  
"Ha, you know it is."  
"I don't know a lot, believe me. But I do know that you're the most beautiful girl I've ever met."  
"Because you have met so _many_ women."  
"Oh well. You cold?"  
"Maybe," I glanced up at him, huddled in a human ball.  
"I'll take that as a yes, want my jacket?"  
"Cliché," I said, frozen to the bone.  
"Yes, no, maybe so?"  
"Fine," he took his brown fleece off and walked _extremely_ close to me, having our noses almost touch as Newt stretched around me and carefully placed the thing on my back. He broke back and looked at me, my teeth chattering into a grin, because he was now shaking. My eyes darted down to his lips, it could've been me noticing his lips turning blue, or something _else_. I remain conflicted. But, my eyes lingered there for too long. He noticed.  
A 'fuck it' was whispered, allowing water vapour to twirl, and the next thing I knew, our frigidness was combined to make heat, like two minus' make a plus. His kiss was soft and sweet, stale at first, as if he didn't want to kiss me in the first place, but when I began to act back, he loosened up. It all happened in a flash, no time to think. It just felt _nice_. Yet not necessarily right. His hand wrapped around my neck, mine still shocked at my side. It seemed they had been less prepared. Eventually, they touched somewhere on his side.  
It lasted a minute or so, a little longer than I thought it would. We pulled apart, both smiling like we'd won the lottery, but I was unable to make eye-contact. His grip fell to my arm, squeezing it.  
"Your gathering should be about _now_. I… have to go. See you tonight." He winked, I blushed.  
 _Since when did I ever blush?  
_ "Okay. Bye."  
And he set off, leaving me and my monstrosity.

I went for a walk, I don't know why. It was getting dark, everyone was still at lunch or only just coming out. And I really didn't want to talk, I'd flush, thinking about what happened and probably tune out. I gandered through the forest, my hands skimmed the long grass until the end of the trail, where I hit the Maze wall. I decided to turn and sit, just to _think_ ,but-  
"Holy shit," I jumped back, seeing Minho glaring at me from a tree,  
"hot stuff, you're very stealthy. Didn't even hear you."  
"Shut up."  
"Hm?"  
"Just… _shut up_."  
He ran over to me, too fast, I wasn't able move.  
And then he punched me.  
He bloody punched me.  
I staggered back, gripping my cheek in which he hit.  
And I did the only thing I thought reasonable,  
I flung my fist back at him.  
"What the hell, dude?!" I yelled, now both of us clutching our injured faces.  
"I should be saying that to you!"  
"What the fuck did I do?"  
He set for me again, and punched me, _again_.  
And I returned the favour. Soon enough, it turned into a fight. Each of us taking turns at a throw. We were both fast, and bleeding. But that didn't stop us. I punched, then shoved him, having Minho fall so far, he hit a tree, which gave me and my bloody face a huge advantage. I kneed him in this you-know-whats and he yelped, making me smile. Which I still don't feel guilty about. The kick wasn't as hard as it could've been, it made me feel queasy just thinking about the bruises that would grow. Yet, he didn't collapse. He kicked me back, in the hamstring, to which I responded with a growl, backing away, not wanting it to get any worse. How were we going to tell people about what happened? Then, I still didn't know.  
"Just, leave me be. Minho, I don't know why you're doing this but it aint good for either of us. So, make your point or leave."  
He lunged toward me, pinning my body up against the back wall. He heavily inhaled, catching his breath. We both winced every now and again, at our cuts and bruises we'd given each other.  
"You," he began, laughing slightly to himself at what he was about to do, "' _Good thing I'm gay then.'"_ Minho imitated my British accent, then his face quickly returned to psychotic.  
"What?"  
"You said," he panted, "you were gay, when I was 'flirting' with you. I'm pretty sure you were just sucking Newt's face off."  
Shit. He saw.  
"That's why you're mad? Because I said I was gay? You pansycake, I don't see the problem."  
"Well, ya'know," he loosened his grip, "you gotta leave shucking chances for… other kids," he retightened, "but I just want to know how long this has been going on for? And what about your bloody girlfriend you love so much, eh?"  
And with that, my knees gave way.  
Marnie.  
 _Marnie._  
How could I forget about Marnie.  
I hit the ground in shock, at myself. Minho attempted to drag me back up, but failed, so kicked me instead. This time I didn't fight back. My hands began to shake and my lips trembled. My mind wouldn't trace back to the memories we shared together. It was hard to miss someone you didn't know anymore, but it's easy to feel the regret.  
"Amelia? Get up. Amy?" Minho's voice was still angered, but strangely _soft_ at the same time.  
"You called me Amy." I was able to gag out.  
"Yeah, so?"  
"Nothing."  
I began to sweat, leaving my hair to stick to my face. I can't tell you what was going through my mind, it was either too many things, or too little.  
"Stand up and explain! I thought you were alright, and _alright_ person. Just **stand up!** "  
"I- I don't. I don't think I can."  
"What do you mean? Get your ass up and start talking." I said nothing to that, just positioned myself less-awkwardly and lent myself up against the back wall, closing my eyes. My breathing was uneven, my head spinning. I was truly forgetting the old Maze, and it'd only been a few weeks. I hated me for it.  
Two minutes later, I heard a sigh, crunch and a scouring.  
My eyes opened to see Minho, unable to make contact with my beaten face. I looked away as soon as I could.  
"I'm sorry," my voice was torn, "I said I was gay because I thought I was. What'd you do if you were in the Glade, fell in love with the same gender and then ended up in a place full of bleeding girls. Initially attracted to no one, you would say you like the same sex. Yes, I should've been more considering and thought about the fact I had never met a boy before, but I didn't. So, yeah. Sorry."  
"What're you? Bisexual?"  
"Honestly have no clue."  
"But you like Newt?"  
"Yes, obviously, or else he would look like you do now, if he attempted to snog me."  
Minho snorted, and gave his signature smirk, swiftly stuffing it away once he'd gained my reaction.  
"Was that a smile?"  
"No," he replied coldly, looking askance. "I'm still pissed at you,"  
"But why? I'm the one that should be pissed at me, and I freaking am. I have to live with the fact that the people I used to know are fading." Minho's face softened, his legs pulled to his chest.  
"I don't _know_ why I'm mad. Aight? It's shucking hard, I don't like liars."  
"But I ain't a liar. Ya'know, I'm starting to get the sense that you like me, Hot stuff," his face went a shade of pink I had never seen before, a glow. For a second, everything stopped, but he resumed fiddling with his fingers shortly after, more viciously.  
"Well, I mean, I guess. I- um-"  
"Not gonna lie, me and you ain't the best of matches. Too competitive, that goes for the both of us. But we could make a good bloody team in the Maze, amiright?"  
"Yeah, as a _team_. Nothing more, though?"  
"That _is_ what I meant. Besides, you cheered me up. Thanks."  
"Ha, but I beat your ass first, and made you feel like a piece of klunk,"  
"Oi! I beat your ass, you hardly touched mine. By the way you can say _shit,_ you know." Minho shook his head, now finally connecting his brown eyes with my green ones.  
"Ew, you kiss your mother with that mouth?"  
"Not cool, dude, not cool."

We sat in each other's presence for the next ten minutes, talking and arguing. He kicked me down, then brought me back up again. Strange how someone could do that.  
"Hey, aren't you meant to be at that Gathering?" I asked, suddenly remembering the thing Newt had hastily run off to.  
"No, I get a break, since you're going to be a Runner anyway. There is really no need in me being there."  
"Sweet! I can't wait to be in the Maze. It's been way too long."  
"I like the Maze and all, it's the coolest job in the Glade, and everyone knows you. But you love the Maze."  
"Yeah, so? What's your point?"  
"Never mind,"  
"Hey, can I ask, why didn't you tell everyone I was gay, once I told you?" It'd been circling my mind for a while, as no one brought it up when having lunch.  
"Eh, it was fun to mess with people. Plus, everyone wants to see you naked-"  
"The hell?"  
"What do you expect? We're all horny teenage boys, alone with only boys for the past two years. So, when the girl shows up, we get a chance to stick out dicks in something. It was funny seeing everyone getting their hopes up. Even I was. Gotta say, it was disappointing when you told me you didn't like boys. 'Cuz even I was-"  
"Shut up before I have to make you."  
"Hm? I don't see the problem. I'm just being honest. But, lemme give you a heads-up. Newt probably doesn't like you, just wants a body-warmer." Minho whispered the last of his sentence, this whole conversation had turned into something I didn't want. But, hey, it was taking my mind off the non-existent girlfriend I half-cheated on because I couldn't remember her.  
Complicated.  
"I don't believe you," I did.  
"Or you don't want to believe me. There's a difference."  
"Could you stop?"  
"What?"  
"Making me feel like utter _klunk_. You're one of the only people in this cesspool of, as you put it, horny teenage boys, that I can trust. And, ya' aint that bad of a person. But you sure do know how to make someone feel like a grain of sand."  
"Sorry not sorry," he pulled up from his position, and offered me a torn hand. Before I could deny it, he grabbed mine.  
"Don't be such a pushover. Anyway, we really need to get out of here and fix our faces. Bathroom?"  
"Sure thing, hot stuff."

We plodded over to the bathroom, making sure no one could see our purple skin as we trenched by.  
I went in first, to check if there was anyone in there. One of the cubicles were locked, so we put ourselves in different stalls until the click of the door sounded.  
"We need to make up a lie," he said, waving his hands all over his face, "we're not gonna be able to clear up this shucking mess."  
"You're right, for once. How 'bout we tripped?"  
"Oh, genius, you. Ably is going to believe that we both just tripped at the same time, while everyone was at a gathering."  
"Well, do you have any better ideas?"  
"Matter of fact, I do. How about we say that we were climbing a tree, and messing around, and-"  
"you pushed me off, yet couldn't stand to leave me, so you jumped down to be by my side?"  
"Something like that. Less dramatic."  
"Well, that's a good lie," I said, turning to a dirty mirror I had half-arsed cleaned that morning, "but falling from a tree would break your bones, not wreck your face."  
"Well, mine is more bruised and yours is more bloody."  
"Hey! Only because you used your long-ass nails to scrape my face. At least I fight properly, with my fists and all!"  
"Shut up, girl-shank! My nails are beautiful, unlike yours, what kind of jacked up klunk is that?"  
"Oi, we're getting off subject. Anymore suggestions?"  
"Um," he paused for a minute, ironically stoking the beard he didn't (and would never be able to) have. "We were seeing how many times we could whack our faces on the wall before one of us gives up. I won, by the way."  
"Hell no! I would win!"  
"Want to try me?"  
"Yeah! I mean- maybe later. We have to figure something out. That does sound like something I would do. But it's kinda stupid."  
"Oh well, suits you."  
"Excuse me?"  
"You heard me!"  
I snorted, shaking my head at him from the mirror, my hands placed on either side of the sink, holding my body weight.  
"Maybe you threw a rock at me to get my attention, and then it turned into a huge snowball-rock-fight?"  
"Why would I want your attention, sissy?"  
"You're the one that bloody threw your fist at my first! So, how about it?"  
"Fine, as long as it doesn't get too competitive and we have another fight. No one won. It was mutual."  
"Fine."  
"Fine."

"Stop moving, girl-shank!" Five minutes later, we were still in the bathroom, Minho now trying to wipe the blood off my face.  
"Can't help it. I must fiddle around, boy-shank!"  
"I'm no boy-shank. I'm just shank. Got it?"  
"You're the boss, boy-shank." I said, smacking his soaked dirty cloth away.  
"Ow. Just stay still. It's gonna be cold, deal with it. Do you want dried blood on your face? It's crusty and brown."  
"Shut up douchebag. Slap the thing on my face and wipe. I don't see why I can't do this," He took my demand to care, and threw the wet towel at me, allowing water to dampen _his_ shirt.  
"Way to go, Ranger Rick. This is your shirt."  
Minho ignored my previous statement, and answered my other.  
"You can't do it because you'd squeal and hide in a stall until I've left!"  
"I'm not a pussy, Min. Just because I have one doesn't mean I am one. I'd like to consider myself a dick,"  
He laughed, sharply pulling off one last scab, so he could wipe the blood from it.  
"You're bloody harsh when it comes down to favours!"  
"Because I don't like doing them. Here, your turn." He handed me the cloth, in order for me to shrink his bruises. In the mirror, my face was clean, with a few, small open wounds. The bruises that he left died down since the cold water reduced the blood flow in the area.  
I turned myself back around, to face Minho waiting impatiently.  
"Right. I'm just going to hold it on your bruises, because you haven't got any bloody spots, really."  
"Aight, get on with it then," He said. His face was black and blue, more than mine was. I _did_ use my elbow more than I should've. But he used his nails. So, whats fair is fair.  
Minho winced when I connected the towel with his biggest bruise, on his forehead. "I would've never shucking punched you the second time if you didn't strike back."  
"Yeah, well," I held it still, on his face, "I would have never punched you if you didn't hit me first. Who's at fault here?"  
"Both of us?"  
"You, Hot stuff, you."  
"We used to be able to fight for entertainment. Every weekend or some klunk. I was always away, but I'd come back to see my mates with bent noses and burst lips. Sooner or later, Alby banned it 'coz someone ended up with a broken leg."  
"Who?"  
"Ben. He couldn't run for ages. Don't tell him I told you."  
"Your secret is safe with me."  
"Really?"  
"No. I'm terrible at keeping secrets. Sorry, mate."  
"Ah well."  
The purple ball on his forehead had died down, so I continued to the next.  
"So, I'm not running tomorrow, but the day after?"  
"I guess so." He sighed at the same time I did, but for different reasons. Me: I needed to be in the Maze before my muscles flattened out into pancakes, and him…  
I suppose he was just fed-up.  
"That sucks. What's a girl gotta do to run in a huge, unsolvable maze that is full of spider-scorpion-monster-robotic-aliens?"  
He laughed, glancing away to the mirror.  
"I ain't joking, Hot Stuff. I miss those _cute 'lil_ human eating insects."  
"Cute?"  
"Yeah. You got a problem?"  
" _Cute?"_ he asked again, touching my hand and pulling it away from his face.  
"Minho, why are you pulling on my dick? Did I stutter?"  
"Just… fix my shucking face! It looks like yours on a good day!"  
"Good point. I'm on it."

We continued for another half an hour, trying to make the best of a helpless situation. We agreed on Minho's idea of us falling out of a small tree, since we were pushing each other around. It was the best option. We went our separate ways once done with our faces, and the fist thing I did was lie in the jacked sheets on Newts bedroom floor and draw.  
I don't know what came to mind, but I ended up drawing a girl, woven into a fire, holding a weighing scale. There was a tree placed behind her, two people to the left of it, holding hands in all the mess. And, finally, drawn into the tree, was an eye. In the end, two hours later, I ended up with a perfectly organised horrific disaster. 'Like me, but without the organisation', I chuckled to myself, turning the page for something new.  
"Lee, you in there?" It was Newt. I set the pad aside and nodded, seconds later realizing he couldn't see me.  
"Yeah. Why'd'ya need to ask, Freckles?"  
"Just wondering," he opened the door, to find a disheveled me in Minho's over-sized shirt. "Freckles? That's a new one."  
"The best one. I got bored of calling you kiddo. You're probably older than me, anyway."  
I sat, and he stood. For what seemed like eternity. I'd only just remembered the kiss. The forsaken _kiss_. And it looked like he had too.  
"How did the gathering go?"  
"Can I kiss you?"  
It was sudden, and it startled me. But I grinned, stepping up and walking over to his spot by the door. And _I_ kissed him. This time, all the tension was gone. It was just me and him and our hormones.  
"You're a good kisser, shank. What do you practice on, your pillow?" I breathed. He shrugged, grabbed my hand and connected our mouths once more.  
"You know," he started, in-between butterflies, "if you want," he linked his ars around my neck, "you can-"  
"Just spit it out, dingbat!" I whispered, pulling apart.  
"Hammock, me, you?" The wooden boards beneath us creaked as I took a step back. His pupils dilated, gaining the understanding of what I thought he meant. "No! No. I didn't mean," he put his thumb to his ring finger on his left hand, and slid his index finger into the hold he'd made. "I meant how about you _not_ sleep on the floor? The hammock can fit us two." All that went through my head, at that moment, was Minho, telling me Newt wanted me as a body-warmer.  
"It's okay. I'm sure you'd sleep better on your own, freckles."

 **Heyo!**  
 **Juicy in this chapter, eh?**  
 **Okay, let's get down to da good stuff.**  
 **So, I took a poal to see if people wanted more, shorter chapters, or less, longer chapters.**  
 **Annnddd, shorter chapters won.**  
 **I'm sorry to everyone who liked 'em longer.**  
 **I really am.**  
 **But, you'll get more.**  
 **And, also, I'M SO SORRY I'VE BEEN GONE FOR AGES!**  
 **I have no excuse, school work hasn't been bad, no one has died.**  
 **It's just me being lazy.**  
 **SIDE-NOTE: THIS IS NOT A NEWT FANFICTION! NOPE NOPE NOPE! THIS STORY WILL NOT BE BASED AROUND THEIR RELATIONSHIP! NOPE NOPE NOPE!**  
 **Sorry, just had to get that outta the way.**  
 **And, thank you, for 1k reads on :)**  
 **I'm a general, WHEE!**


	9. Love Concluded

**"The beauty of love is that you can fall into it with the most unexpected person at the most unexpected time"  
\- Unkown**

 **230.12.30 | 6:56 P.M.**

 _"You almost didn't make it back on time today, Lia, how am I supposed to be_ _ **calm?**_ _" Marnie stood opposite to me, tears falling from her eyes, and her fists clenched.  
"Marn, I'm sorry. I got lost in my crazy mind. It's only happened once!"  
"And I'm not willing to risk it again. You're not running anymore!" She turned on her heels and began to pace away, fury built deep in her eyes.  
"_ _ **No!**_ _" I yelled, me, now standing with my legs shoulder-width-apart. "_ _ **Just because you're my girlfriend doesn't mean you get to choose what I can and can't do!**_ _"  
"_ _ **Excuse me?**_ _I'm not doing this for my girlfriend. I'm doing it for a fellow Glade member, as your second in command!"  
"If you were doing it for a Glade member, out of the good of your heart, __**let me stay in the maze!**_ _" My face began to heat up. This was the first argument I'd had with Marnie, ever. And neither of us was making it any better.  
"_ _ **Never!**_ _You will work in the Gardens with me and Izzy from now on! I need you by my side every second of every day!"  
"... What the __**fuck?**_ _This is lunacy! I run the Maze better than everyone else, and I plant like an absolute stick! Is this how you want to get out of the Maze?_ _ **By giving up your best Clicker?**_ _"  
"If that is what it takes to keep a fellow Glader alive! You're starting tomorrow! No more questions!"  
"I have __**no**_ _questions, just one statement. Me and you, this thing we have. It's over!"  
Her wrath-full face flashed with a melancholy tone. Marnie's fists released, her shoulders relaxed. But I stayed the same, and stormed off, leaving her in shock._

 _"What the actual shit on an iceberg coffin?" Me and Myah sat in the empty canteen, Sally cleaning behind the hole in the wall.  
"It all just happened so fast."  
"So did you do it, or..."  
"Yeah, I did it."  
"Any regrets?"  
"No. She was being irrational! I did what I thought was right." She shuffled in her seat.  
"Okay. Well, it's a shame. You two were the only couple ever in the Glade. I was working on a shrine for the two of you."  
"Looks like you need Jesus!" Sally called from behind the counter. We had no clue who Jesus was or what he did, but it sounded like a frequent phrase, and was quite humorous to say.  
"So," Myah gave Sally the finger, and turned back to me, "How long was it? Two weeks?"  
"Three. I think. She kept track."  
"And she was yelling at you because you came back at four to seven?"  
"Yup. Apparently, it was 'too late'. I mean, I had four minutes left. I can run three quarters of a mile in four minutes, if I go fast."  
"I would've been pissed too. But here's the real question, did you two do the do?"  
"You mean sex?"  
"Yeah!" I heard Sally giggle to the side of us.  
"I'm not going to tell you! I should go talk to Beth. She is so much better at this friend shit," Myah raised her eyebrows, "but we totally fucked." I chuffed, winking at the girl.  
"Really? Three weeks?"  
"Hey, what can I say? I'm good."  
"And horny?"  
"Got that right." We high-fived, and took another bite of the sympathy cherry bun Sally had whipped up.  
"Okay, I've heard too much!" Sally strolled out from the kitchen, and the diner, into the unknowingness of the Glade.  
We laughed, but we were quickly cut off by the door swinging open with a loud bang.  
It was Beth.  
"Bitch, Amelia! Get your pansycake-ass, stick-ass over here right this second and tell me why in the __**world**_ _you fucked up everything I stand for."  
"Good to see you, too, Beth." I waved at the girl, and she did back, prior to turning back to the vicious monster, and dragging my out of my seat.  
"Sorry, Myah. May I steal her?" Myah nodded, licking the icing off the bun.  
"I'll just eat this all to myself." If my heart wasn't already split, the words that came out of her mouth shattered me._

 _Beth threw me down on a stool just outside the East Door, her sitting opposite me. She sat and looked at me for a few seconds, then yelled  
"_ _ **what the actual fuck, you schnick!**_ _" I grinned, having nothing to say. She punched me. It was nothing serious, we did it all the time when we were pissed at each other. Which was a lot.  
You can't blame us, it's what best-friends did. "I honestly wish I could beat the shit out of you. But Harriet would kill me. So, instead, I'm taking the boring road of talking to you," Beth crossed her arms, leaning in and squinting, "you're not even fazed, are you?"  
"Why would I be? I'm the one who did it," she hit me again, harder this time. "_ _ **Beth!**_ _"  
"_ _ **You did it?!**_ _What the hell is wrong with you? Even I know this girl is perfect,"  
I chortled. She wasn't perfect. When she got nervous, she would pick around the dry skin on her lips. Marnie would always clench her fists when she was annoyed, so much so that her hands started to bleed. And when she was scared, she dug her nails into her arm until her skin tore. But, of course, only I knew about her awful habits. Sure, to everyone else she was the perfect girl. In reality, Marnie was problematic, like everyone else in the stinking place.  
"Why throw her away?"  
"Because she threw __**my**_ _job away. The only thing that makes me happy, not counting you, is Clicking. Just because I was a little late-"  
"_ _ **A little?**_ _You are meant to get back around half six, earlier is better. Amelia, if you didn't come back..."  
"Then I would want you to find my dead body and hang it up on the inland front." I weakly smiled.  
"It's not a joke, death. God, everything is a joke to you."  
"I thought that about you, too! You've betrayed me Beth. I guess I'll have to leave for my __**other**_ _best friend. Harriet." This comment made her laugh, Harriet wasn't into 'our kind of people' as she'd so kindly put it.  
"_ _ **No!**_ _Don't make me laugh! I'm still mad at you. So, I'm going to give you the talk."  
"The talk? Bloody hell, I know how the birds and the bees work, Beth. Almost too well."  
"A different talk, stick! Now, explain to me what happened. I know you got back late, even I was worried about that," Beth was never worried, so I loosened a little, "but that girl really likes you. And you seemed to really like her," my shoulders shrugged, "she wouldn't lash out on you for no reason! You are late back almost every bloody day. Today was a tad too close to the line, but if she truly believes in you, which I know she does, she would trust you'd come back. Something must have triggered her. So, think about it. Did you do anything?"  
I couldn't recall doing anything to Marnie, she seemed happy when I left this morning. It was a day like many others.  
"I don't think I did anything. I mean, I got up a little earlier than usual, but, ya'know, when you get up, you can't go back to sleep. So, I met up with Polly and Daphne just outside the East door before they opened. Then I got back late. So what? I didn't do anything."  
"Are you sure?"  
"_ _ **Yes!**_ _"  
"Okay, okay. It wasn't you. I still don't know what went down. Why did you split?"  
"Because she told me I couldn't run anymore. Told me I'd be working with her in the gardens."  
"That's sweet."  
"What the actual f- It's hella mean!"  
"Sure, sure. Maybe it was Harriet?"_

 _This continued for three hours, she gave suggestions, and I shut them down. There was absolutely nothing that I could give a second thought about. We'd moved seats a while into 'the talk', sitting on a log near the burnt-out fire. My head was resting on her lap. Somehow, Beth had accomplished the goal to making me upset._

 _"You like this girl a lot?" She mumbled, twirling my hair in her fingers. I nodded. "Right, then you go find her and tell her that!"  
"I'm too tired." I conveniently yawned. So, she knocked me in the back of my head.  
"Then you better wake up. Here's why," I groaned, rolling off her, "shush. If you leave this, then it'll just drag on. And I know you, tomorrow, you'll just go Clicking, that'll get you nowhere. Just in trouble with Harriet, Aye? Evidently, Marnie will be way more pissed off than she already is. But if you talk to her now, there will be a chance of you keepin' your job. And, you know, keepin' her."_

 _And that's exactly what I did. But- before that, I chugged some, well, I don't actually know. And went on a bear-hunt._

 _It wasn't a very long bear hunt.  
The Glade isn't very big, and she definitely wasn't outside, not late at night. She was never outside at night.  
I'll cut to the chase. I found her in her bedroom._

 _Bleeding._

 _"Marn, you in there?" I asked, fiddling with a little aeroplane toy.  
No reply. "Oi, I'm coming in!"  
The door to her room was pushed open, and she was standing, looking frantic, next to the mirror, blood clotted on her arms and a slit on her ankle. "Marnie, oh my god!" I rushed over to her, but Marnie didn't seem to care, like it was normal. An everyday occurrence. She winced, yet looked used to it. But, hell, was I.  
"I- I didn't think you'd come looking for me!"  
"I knocked on your bloody door? What'd you expect?"  
"Oh, you think I have time to put a band-aid on and let it heal in the three second warning you gave me?"  
"_ _ **What's wrong with you?**_ _" Marnie recoiled, pulling the chair out from under the desk, "I mean... why would you do this to yourself?"  
"Please, don't tell a soul!"  
"Why would you do this to yourself?!" I repeated, marching across the room, leaning over her.  
"Well, I got sad."  
"Sad? I don't think you would harm yourself because you're sad! Tell me what happened!"  
"Okay- just promise me you won't tell anyone, and you'll help me clean this up, and after this, everything will go back to normal." Her voice was strained, hurting.  
"I don't think I can do that, Marn!"  
She paused for a moment, her nails digging into her hand, focusing the pain in a different area.  
"I haven't told Harriet that I think you shouldn't run anymore."  
"So?"  
"I'll let you run, if you don't tell anyone."  
"Sold."  
"Deal?"  
"Deal."  
"Good," she sighed, pulling out a little string from her white shirt. "It started when the girls died in the Glade. I was scared and terribly upset. Soon enough, that little upset turned into a cesspool of depression. I think. Once everything looked helpless, I started to cut myself. It began with my bashing my head against the wall, then I began to cut," her eyes watered, still I stood frozen. I was never able to handle crying well, "I stopped when you came, but during the day, when you were gone, I got worried that you would never return. So, I did it again, and again. When we were dating, I quit again. Because you made me happy. But now, I don't know, I wasn't feeling great. I don't think I ever do. You yelled at me!"  
"You yelled at me first!"  
"That's not true! Anyway, I cut myself again. End of discussion."  
"How come I never saw the cuts?"  
"Why do you think I always wear long-sleeved dresses?"  
"Damn, lady, you're good! But- I don't understand. You look so happy all the time!"  
"Fake."  
"Those smiles?"  
"Fake."  
"The laughs?"  
"Fake!"  
"Marnie, you have a real problem. This sounds a lot like depression."  
"Thanks Miss. Obvious."  
"Shut up," I perched myself on her table, "you seem okay now."  
"Well, yeah. You're here."  
"Fake?"  
"No." And we both gave genuine smiles.  
"Okay. I won't tell anyone. I'll run. You won't cut yourself again. From now on, you'll let out real smiles, real laughs. You know why?"  
"Why?"  
"Because I will never leave you, I will never die. Not while you're alive. You have no need to worry. Never ever, not ever, give up. If something happens to me, don't go this low. Because we will find each other again. Okay?"_

 _The moment those words finished coming out of my mouth, she kissed me. And I realised how lucky I was. How beautiful she is, and how much I never want to lose her._

 _"What does this mean?" I asked, my lips still relatively close to hers.  
"Everything you said before. Hope. That's all we have going for us. But it's enough. Hope."_

 _And that's when I began to count on hope. And only_ _hope_ _._

" **Screw ever getting up ever again!** " I yelled, probably waking up everyone in the Glade.  
"Morning," Newt said, already up and dressed, "well, it's closer to the bloody afternoon. Although you don't have to get up today, it would be nice if you did."  
"How about... no."  
"Come on, Lee. It's eleven. You're hungry!"  
"How'd you know that?"  
"You always seem to be hungry."  
"Eh, you make good points, Kiddo."

That's what got me out of bed, food. I would do anything for food. The sweet taste on nutrie-

I'm getting off track.

We headed down to the cafeteria, prepared for the awkward 'we're together conversation'. But, weirdly, that didn't occur.

"Wassup, peeps!" I called, 'swaggering' my way in, sitting myself next to Minho.  
"Wow, you're chirpy. What's making you so happy?" Minho asked, already stuffing his face with the goo on his tray.  
"Today is the day I... do nothing!"  
"Yeah. Me neither. I get the day off running. That one blissful day a week. Wanna hang?"  
"Sure."  
"Sweet."  
"Oh, snap! I better get some food!"  
"No need!" Newt pulled up to the table, dropping two plates down, one by me, one by him.  
"Awe, thanks. Never expect me to do this for you."  
"I don't expect anything from you, lame-ass." Newt began to eat while Minho chuckled silently.  
"I'm gonna stick around with Minho, wanna join us?"  
Minho looked down, almost as if he didn't want Newt to hang around us.  
"Nah. I have to do some gardening as there's no important work to do. You two have fun though."  
Minho looked up.  
"Cool beans-" I sighed.

Ten minutes later, Newt left, taking all the trays with him. Now it was just me and Minho.

"So, you two dating now?" He asked, fiddling with his fingers.  
"You make it sound like a romance on the playground."  
"Well, isn't it?"  
"Slim-it. No, we're not dating you shank. Just... kissing?"  
"Sure. Does he think that?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"At some point you're going to have the 'where's this relationship going' talk."  
"Min, we're in a big square in the middle of nowhere-"  
"That rhymed!"  
"Oh yeah! Anyway, I don't think two teenagers are gonna have 'the talk'."  
"You don't know Newt like I do."  
"Eh. Good point. Well, if he brings it up, I'll knock him out and run."  
"Run where? We're in a big square in the middle of nowhere!"  
"We're on a roll!"  
I high-fived him over the table, getting some funny looks from others.

"Speaking of running," I smiled, "tomorrow! Right?"  
"Yeah. You're my partner."  
"Why?"  
"Coz'. I'm the Keeper and you're the greenie. Just the way it is."  
"Oh god. I can't stand being around you all day!"  
"Tough luck. You're hanging with me today."  
"Okay. Cool. Where'd you wanna go?"  
"There's literally nowhere to go. Private, anyway," he paused for a moment, "how about the Runners Shack. I know you're not allowed in there. But you break rules, right?"  
"Hell yeah, I do! Let's go now before everyone gets out."  
"Sweet stuff, shuck-face."

We snuck round the back, waltzing straight into the wooden green structure. Minho pushed open the door, to the room I'd only been in once. A big, concrete table sat in the middle. With many sheets of sections from the Maze.

"And that's your blood right there. From two weeks ago." Minho smiled, pulling up a stool.  
"Nice! If we ever get out of this cesspool of hormones, I know I've made my mark."  
"Me too. Section four of the Maze, I ran into a wall and my head started bleeding."  
I couldn't help but laugh at that.  
"The master of the Maze. Ran. Into. A. Wall?"  
"Slim-it, Greenie! It was week three of the job."  
"Not letting you off for that," I sat beside him, "I am so happy to stop doing those stupid chores."  
"Yeah. I didn't have to do 'em, thank god. Heard you were pretty shucking good at building, though."  
"Really? Huh. I knew I did quite well. I guess I never really built before. Well, in the Maze anyway."  
"Yeah. I think Gally is quite fond of you. Strange. Cuz he hated you only a couple weeks back. Gally ain't fond of a lot o' people."  
"Can't tell. Oh, I had to cut open a chicken!"  
"Cool!"  
"I know! It feels kinda goo-like. Anyway, I'll be running and that's that."  
"Well, I don't wanna make you panic, shank, but if Newt didn't let cha go running once, he might do it again. Especially now that you're 'kissing'."  
"Tough luck. It doesn't matter."  
"Why?"  
"You'll sneak me out into the Maze, right?"  
"Greenie, that could get both you and me banished! Newt is our second-in-command!"  
"Eh. Don't care. I bet I can survive a night in the Maze!"  
"I'll take that bet. If we ever escape, and you don't spend a night in the Maze, you have to... draw me naked!"  
"What? No! Ew!"  
"And if I don't, you can beat me up."  
"Deal!" I slapped his hand and we shook. Just the thought of punching his face in again made me want to run into the Maze at that very moment. But that was crazy. So, I didn't.

We chatted until the evening, before having to leave. The runners would return a little earlier than seven, so we had to escape the shack. We grabbed dinner early, and hung around in Frypan's kitchen for a while, eating the leftover bread. We also ate some frosting, but we were sworn to secrecy. The Gladers would go bananas if they knew.

So, with the free time to spare, we just hung around the kitchen.

"You're running the Maze tomorrow, Amelia?" Frypan asked.  
"Running? Maze? Never heard of all this crap." I joked.  
"Oh, sure. You've marked it down on all your mental calendars!" Minho said, tossing a fork to me.  
"Why did you just throw me a _fork_?"  
"I didn't want it."  
"Guys, don't play with the cutlery! I just washed them! Any more from you two and I'll kick you out!" Frypan snatched the fork out of my hands and shoved it back in the drawer.  
"She started it!"  
"Nu-uh! You threw the fork first."  
"Well you- you just suck!"  
" **Guys!** Shut up! I'm cooking! No fighting, no throwing, no messing and, you know what, no talking! God, you two are like children! Just try to have a mature conversation."  
"I don't think that's possible." I sighed, tapping my fingers on the wooden counter.  
"Go on, I'd like to see you two have an actual, human conversation! Bloody shanks."  
"Alright," Minho said, "Amelia, how was... lunch?"  
"You were there with me dumbass!" I said, dipping my hand in water and splashing him.  
"Nope. You ruined it. Try again slint-head. Amelia, you start."  
"Fine. Minho, I like your eyebrows. What, did you tweeze them?"  
He was going to come back with something, then thought otherwise.  
"No. It's all natural and beautiful... just like- your personality?"  
"My personality is utter sheit."  
"Amelia!" Frypan yelled, chucking down a cloth.  
"Bloody hell, shank, don't shake the Earth. You're right. Conversations aren't my forte."  
"Couldn't tell," Frypan put the last plate on the side, "alright, you two, everyone is going to come in and grab dinner now, so you lot better leave. I'll be questioned by Alby if you don't budge!"  
"Agh, fine. See you tomorrow old friend." I propped open the door, letting Minho leave first.  
"Early, I 'spect. You gotta get up shucking _early_ to grab some klunk from me before you pop off running and all."  
"Oh, I'm so bloody excited for that. See you later."  
"Bye, shank."

The day continued into evening, into night. People asked about mine and Minho's faces from time to time, but we just shrugged it off and told the rock story. No one seemed to care all that much. Apart from Alby, he eyed us a little and shook his head. _I don't think he fully believed us_.

Nothing majorly exciting happened that night, I talked to some Runners I had never talked to before. That was cool. There weren't very many of them, so I think I met them all.

I didn't know the exact time when Newt returned, but it was late. His hair was wet, so I assumed he had taken a shower. We went upstairs together, saying goodnight to the others and preparing to sleep.

"Okay, tomorrow, shank, you'll wake up at early o'clock. Ready to hear this klunk?"  
"Yes." I shut the door, kicking off my shoes.  
"Half-five. Half an hour getting up, an hour getting ready, and then running in."  
"That's fine. As long as I get running."  
"Really? Wow. What's wrong with you. Your jacked."  
"Yeah, I know. I just wanna get to sleep, the sooner the better." I threw open my 'bedsheets' and chucked down the things inside my pockets.  
"I just realized..."  
"What?"  
"I haven't kissed you today."  
"You haven't?"  
"You're a terrible girlfriend!"  
"Girlfriend?"  
"Yeah. So... can I?"

I laced my hands in his and kissed his cheek, the most caring I'd ever been in the boys Glade.

"Yes, you can," he lent in, "but, the tag 'girlfriend'. Are we there yet?"  
"Of course! If two people like each other, and they are both open about it, kissing and klunk, it's a relationship."  
"Sure, we have a relationship. But is it girlfriend and boyfriend level? I mean- there's a Maze out there we need to focus on... escaping and all."  
"We're never going to escape. But I don't care, you're here with me now. It makes me happy."  
"So you don't want to get out?"  
"No- I never said that."  
"We are getting out of this shithole. No doubt about it."

Newt shook his head.

"How do you do that?"  
"What?"  
"How are you so sure we're going to escape?"  
"Because who in the right mind would put a bunch of teenagers in a Maze full of things I can't be bothered to describe, just to keep them in there? If there's a Maze, there's a way out. That's the point of every Maze, right? Have hope."

He lent in to give me a quick kiss, turning out the lights.

"I'll be waking you up early tomorrow, yes?"  
"No need. I'll wake up myself. My body-clock is very odd. I'll see you tomorrow evening."  
"Goodnight."  
"Goodnight."

 _I realized I liked a girl called Marnie a few weeks into me coming into the Glade. No one could help falling for her. Even the sight of her could make anyone gain butterflies.  
Especially me.  
The way her hair fell over her face, her freckles that only showed up outside, her giggle. Everything about Marnie was amazing._

 _But, I had no idea I liked her. I thought the tingles in my stomach were just a feeling of affection, of gratitude that she was always there for me. So, I went to talk to one of my closest friends in the Glade. The one I hung out with every day._

 _Beth._

 _"Hey, Amelia, what's up?" She said, sitting on her single bed in the room she shared with another girl._

 _All the Captains got their own room, the others had to share with another girl. Of course, at that time, Beth wasn't the Captain of the Stackers._

 _"Nothing. I'm just bored. Marnie has to work, so I've been walkin' around all day."  
"You've really taken a fancy to that Marnie girl, ay?"  
"Yeah. She's really nice. The first one that was nice to me when I came out of that plodding box."  
"Oi! What about me?"  
"Beth, when we first met you told me I was the prettiest girl here. Second to you, and that you wanted to kill me."  
"At least I called you pretty!"  
"You then proceeded to strangle me!"  
"And then __**you**_ _proceeded to kick and punch me!"  
"_ _ **You tried to kill me!**_ _"  
"Shut up, we're friends now, innit?"  
"Yeah. Plus, me being the 'second prettiest' isn't true. Have you seen Marnie?"  
"Yes, in fact I have. And she's not all that..." she slid off her bed and stared at me, highly forcefully, "Amelia, do you have the hots for Marnie?"  
"No! I mean- no. Why would you think that?"  
"Well, you talk about her. __**A lot!**_ _"  
"I don't think I'm even- gay?"  
"Hey- hey. No one will judge you if you are! I heard Myah is super into women. She's kind of becoming the local pervert," she laughed, "I'm just kidding, Myah is nice. Plus, she's super good at all that medical business."  
"Sounds like you have the hots for Myah, let alone me and Marnie."  
"Ugh, hole-it. You know I'm way too into guys! I have sex-dreams about them almost every night."  
"I know- you graphically tell me." I grimaced- sitting down on a stool between the two beds.  
"Well I can't keep them to myself! Anyway, this Marnie thing. Why don't you ask her out?"  
"Beth."  
"What?"  
"Beth."  
"_ _ **What?**_ _"  
"Where the fuck would we go?"  
"... I heard the Maze Exit is lovely in the summer!"  
"Oh yeah, let me just skip on over there with her, it'll only take a jiffy." My eyes rolled so far back, I could almost see the Maze inside my own head.  
"Let me give you some proper advice!"  
"Oh goodie."  
"You like this girl?"  
"Wow, ain't you a genius?"  
"Could you stop with the sarcasm for a minute. Do you like this girl?"  
"Yeah," I exhaled, "but-"  
"Does she like you?"  
"I don't know..." I stopped there, not wanting to be cut off again.  
"You take risks. So, ask her out! You run the Maze for god's sake! Just do it!"  
"Beth... I don't know."  
"But I do. I gotta get dressed so shove on out, but when I come back out I want you and Marnie to be snogging and holding hands, just like two happy sticks. Okay? Okay. Scoot."_

 _I didn't ask her, though. I wasn't ready. I would never be ready for the beauty that was Marnie...  
Such a shame..._

It was early morning when I woke. Within the unmemorable dreams, I had, I could stop and arise at any time. It was one of my many odd skills I'd attained from being a Runner in what seemed like my past life. Newt was asleep, so I crept around him, and shoved on the jeans that had been on me since the beginning of time and a tank-top that I was going to 'borrow' from Newt. Seriously, when the creators sent me up, couldn't they have a little decency as to give me clothes? Or did they want me to walk around naked. Because I would.

It was early, as the sky told me when I stepped out of the homestead and into the large, green Glade. Only a few were up. Me, Alby, Minho (probably, although I couldn't see him) and a couple other runners. The shack was to the left of the west door, the closest to the homestead, letting my jog over there go swiftly.

I ran and pushed open the shack door to find a certain Minho digging around for a certain something.  
"Morning!" I yelled, making him groan.  
"I have everything for you all set up, but I can't find your pack." He straightened up and turned around to face me.  
"You mean this?" I bent down to pick up a brown sack looking thing from the floor.  
"Alright, shank. Show-off. Put it on and then grab your stuff from the table."  
"Do I have shoes?"  
"Yes and you have to wear them!"  
"What if I don't want to?  
"Tough it up, Greenie."

I threw the brown backpack thing over my shoulders and tightened it at the chest.  
"Wow, these things weren't made for people with boobs." I laughed, picking up a flask and shoving in my back pocket.  
"Yeah, well we didn't expect any girl shanks."  
"Boys can have boobs too. Equality, you know?"  
"I don't know."  
I frowned while attempting to tuck my shirt into my pants.  
"Who's got your knickers in a twist?" He shrugged, "speaking of knickers, is that a pile of underwear?" I pointed to an open cardboard box by the side of Minho.  
"Yup, that's specially made for the Runners. We got it sent up in the box."  
"Why?"  
"Um- so your dick doesn't fall off when running."  
"Ah, okay. What if you don't have a dick?"  
"I hope you're talking about you."  
"Me too. Do I have a pair?"  
"Sure, if you want one. Oh, here's all the papers and stuff. Mark down our section, okay?"  
"You're the boss man," I saluted, pushing the final piece of food in my pack, "could you close this for me?" My head nodded backwards as I turned so Minho could close the bag.  
"Mhm."

His torn, beaten hands glossed over my tangled, short hair, pulling it back and flipping it over my shoulder. I was tugged a little back by the tightening of the straps on the leather.  
"Sorry," he muttered. I heard a click, and then another. He tied a knot, finally, making sure that when we were running it didn't fall off. But Minho lingered at the last pull. I felt his stare behind me, his urge to either brutally attack me or save me from the world I didn't need saving from. It was hard to tell. Eventually, it was tugged. And everything went back to normal.

"Thanks, Hot Stuff."  
"No problem, princess."

We stepped outside to see the Runners lined up, waiting for Minho's command to leave, some eager-eyed, some fed-up.  
"The doors haven't opened yet, shanks. Don't look so excited. Ben, chin up!"  
"Sorry, mate."  
"Why're you so down?" Minho asked.  
"It's my first time running without you, man, I'm going to miss you."  
"Slim-it, you have Hank now, yeah?"  
"I guess."

"Wow, you're popular," I mumbled, leaning against Minho, making him tense up, "they're almost in love with you."  
"Not almost. They are in-shucking-love with me-"

He was cut off by the Maze doors rumbling open, the sound I heard every morning and every night, yet this time was different. Minho assigned doors to everyone, and they all ran off. Then there was him and me with two others. As soon as the gate was fully open, we ran.

And I was in ecstasy.

Every step I took on the stone floor was wonderful. And soon I was fully submerged in the huge walls of my home.

The two boys, George and Nick, turned a separate corner, meanwhile we turned left, to section five.

I knew the Maze back and forth, sometimes I even rushed ahead of Minho to corner before he did. I ran in an almost skip. I'd been away from this moment for weeks. And now I reached the jackpot. _WHOoo..._

"You're cute when you're happy," Minho laughed, but quickly covered up, "like a pat on the head cute."  
"And I'm freaking ugly with any other emotion I feel." I joked, turning another bend, into the second half of Section Five, where the walls extended and the path was longer.  
"Yeah, pretty much, shank. You've marked the turns, right?"  
"Yup," I came to a halt seconds later, pulling up to the wall. I could remember everything about the Maze, but not this. "Hey, Min, what's this?" I peeled a piece of paper out of the wall, crammed in-between two bricks. It read:

 _ **World In Catastrophe Killzone Experiment Department**_

"Oh, that's everywhere. Ignore them. It ain't a code or shucking anything, really."  
"Really?"  
"Really. Just keep running we can have our lunch in an hour or so."  
"Cool beans."

And that was the end of that conversation for a very long time.

It was actually two hours before we got to eat, both me an Minho ran as far as we could before our sweaty, heat-ridden bodies stopped us so we didn't pass out.

I slid down the side wall, Minho following after me, our arms touching as he fixed into place beside my left arm.

"You're good," he panted, "very good."  
"Well, Mr. Keeper, you are better."  
"I know."

When we were running together, we were testing each other. Who could last the longest? Who could go faster? Who could stop the least?  
Neither of us mentioned it, but we both knew it.

"Sandwich?" He tilted his head towards me, handing one of his grinders.  
"God yes." I took and gnawed into it, letting my skull crash against the brick behind me in pleasure.  
"Hungry, shank?"  
"How could you tell?"  
"I have a thing for this type of stuff. Hey, eat quick, we're off again in like twenty."  
"What's the time?"  
"Uhh," he flicked out his hand, "it's two-fifty. We'll leave at five past or some klunk."  
"Eh. Time is an illusion, anyway."  
"You're so shucking weird." He pulled out his own sandwich and started gobbling down on it.  
"I'll take that as a compliment, since you're not exactly normal yourself."  
"You make your points, Greenie."  
"We are both odd people, so what? That's what makes us so great. It's why we fit together like peanut butter and jam, although I wouldn't know what that would taste of..."  
His head slowly turned to look at me, his mouth still full of crumbs. He swallowed, frowned and cocked his brows.  
"Did you say jam?"  
"Yuhuh."  
"The klunk is jam?"  
"Jam is that red stuff you put on bread and scones and other shit."  
"Okay, number 1. It's jelly, not jam, and number 2. It's s-c-o-n-e-s not s-c-o-n-s."  
"No." I put, simply.  
"Which part are you denying?"  
"All of it. Jelly is that stuff that wiggles around on a plate and it's most definitely scones. We're talking about the same thing, right? Scones are those disgusting crumbly things?"  
"Yeah, they taste like salty cardboard?"  
"Right!"  
"Right, yeah, no. Jelly is the spread, and the thing you're shucking on 'bout is Jell-O."  
"I don't get it."  
"Well, you and I come from different places... probably. Your accent is all posh and klunk-"  
"No it's not!" I said, laying my food aside, "take a look at Newt, that posh twat!"  
"Sure, Newt speaks like all fancy and stuff, and you don't talk like that. But still."  
"Just cuz I'm British makes me talk like some Queen?"  
"You're not good enough to be a Queen. That's why I called you Princess earlier." Minho chuckled.  
"In that case I'm going to call you peasant!"  
"Thought my name was Hot Stuff?"  
"Well, now it's peasant because I'm not attracted to you anymore!"

"... You were attracted to me?"  
"You're hot. _Were_ hot. Damn."  
"Oh," He looked down at his hands, "but you're more attracted to Newt?"  
"Sure," I shrugged, knowing that wasn't true. Although, Minho gossiped like a little girl, "but- you know, I'm closer to you than I am with anyone in the Glade."  
"Really?" He looked up at me with his empty, dark-brown eyes that plummeted into a dark abyss beyond. No one knew what was in there, and I don't think anyone wanted to know.  
"Yeah. I mean- since the first day you've been nothing but a pain in the ass to me, but that's what I like. Everyone's treating me differently and all. Apart from you. You challenge me and make fun of me like one of your Glader buddies, and that's fun. I don't like it when Newt asks to do this and asks to do that- like I have a say in it. Or when he thinks he can decide things for me-"  
"Amy, those are two opposite shucking points." At the time, I didn't even notice he said Amy. If it were anyone else- I dunno. I would've punched them.  
"Bla, bla. Slim-it. Who are you, Mr. I'm-right-you're-wrong?"  
"I am right, ain't I, though? And if I'm... that... you are Miss. I-make-fun-of-people-as-a-defence-mechanism."  
"Well, now you're Mr. Obvious."  
"Oh shoot-" he flicked his wrist out once again to check the time, "we better start running again. We'll do another hour and then turn back, get there around quarter-past-six. Kay?"  
"That's sounds OK to me."

We pushed ourselves up and shoved things back in our packs before giving a nod and a grin.

Honestly, the best day in the Glade I ever had. Not that any of the stuff in the Glade was amazing, but he was, and so was the Maze, when I was running with _him_.

We sped ahead, trying to race each other, but this time out loud. He won the first two times...

I let him...

And I won the last time, fair and square.

That quickened it up, so we were able to take another short break when we were heading back, in which we played truth or dare because we were mature.

"Okay, so I'm gonna guess you're going for a dare?" Minho asked, leaning against a wall.  
"Uh- no, actually, I'm going to go truth."  
"Wow- right, uh- I didn't have one prepared for truth. Um- okay, who's your favorite person in the Glade?"  
"You," I answered, "without a doubt."  
He looked taken-a-back at how swift I was answering his question.  
"What about Newt?"  
"Ugh, what _about_ Newt? He's ideal."  
"Isn't that a good thing?"  
"Sure, for anyone else but me. You're funny and not-at-all-serious unless it comes down to it and that's what I like."  
"I would say the same for you but you're never serious. I bet when you die you're gonna pull a joke or something."  
"Yeah- I was thinking: 'Come here, I have something to tell you and only you.' And then die," Minho laughed and began to walk with his hands submerged by his jeans. "How 'bout you?"  
"I'll probably tell the truth, everything that I've been hiding, you know?"  
"Boring. Speaking of truth; truth or dare?"  
"Dare-"

We both shared dares after that, until it got old since there was nothing to do in the Maze but run.

Nothing was found as we ran back to the Glade side-by-side. Tiresome, but what did I expect? To find a way out?

Ha

"Hi there, how'd it go?"

Me and Minho returned to see Newt stood nonchalantly by the gate, holding his little gardening tool I didn't know how to use. The stone of the Maze slowly transitioned into grass as we walked out. It was quarter to seven, so all of the Runners had gotten back before us.

"Don't act like you haven't been stood there for two hours." Minho staid, jogging straight past us and through the crooked, wooden shack door.

"Well, have you?" I asked, standing in front of him, our feet almost touching.

He looked down at his fingers that grasped the rusty spade and shrugged, "Not two hours..."  
I raised my eyebrows.  
"Just like... half an hour..."  
"Why, shank?"  
"I just wanted to... I dunno, check you were okay."  
"You know," I leant in, "that's kinda cute. How overly protective and possessive you are."  
He pushed me back with one hand.  
"Is that a compliment or...?"  
"I'll let you decide," I leant in once again, placing my hands carefully on the wall behind him so he couldn't shove me away again, "but I was intending it to be a compliment."  
"Look, Lee," Newt placed a hand on my shoulder, so gentle I could barely feel it, "no one knows about us yet,"  
Minho did.  
"And I think people finding out about us wouldn't be very good... I mean, I could lose my ranking and I don't want to be a Slopper, you know?"  
"I know." He smiled, and dropped his hand from my shoulder, looking at me with those beautiful brown eyes I miss so much. Even though I knew it was probably wrong, and he was probably right, I pushed myself further towards him, and further, and further until out foreheads were touching. Until our noses were side-by-side. Until our lips grazed. It was wrong, we were in the open. But he was just _so_ magnetic.

Our chests rose and sank in unison, our breaths fanned each other's cheeks, waiting for the other to make a move. And I've never been a patient person, so it was incredibly difficult to pull away.

That's why I didn't.

Our lips clashed as we both rammed our bodies into the others, exactly at the same time. Newts hands clasped my waist, pulling my closer to him, if that was possible.

It was harsh, yet sweet at the same time, as if our personalities were merging and intertwining like our light hair.

I don't think anyone noticed for the first twenty seconds our lips moved in federation, but then boys began to stop and stare. Grabbed their mates, pointed. From the corner of my eye I saw Minho slam the door to the Shack, not ever giving us a single look. I didn't think much of it at the time.

I stopped squinting and closed my eyes again, allowing myself to be submerged in his comforting lips and warm tongue.

The cheering started seconds later.

"Go Newt!"  
"Get a room!"  
"Unfair!"

" **What's all this racket?** " I wasn't listening until the familiar strict voice sounded. Both me and Newt pulled our heads backwards, gasping for air, but not regretting what we'd just done, even if we looked panicked.

It came to me then that I may not be able to run if Alby had a problem with me and him. And Newt might lose his second-in-command-ness?

Before either of us could stumble away from _each other_ , Alby did it for us.

With his hands on our shoulders, he ripped us away, looking as stern as ever. After all, him _and_ Newt were the ones to tell me I couldn't fool around with anyone.

"Newt," he sighed, "come with me."

His voice was one of a disappointed -slash- angry parent. Honestly, it shook me to my core.

Alby's weight lifted off my shoulders when he guided Newt away. My lip was bitten by my teeth, so much so I felt it was going to burst. It was a tad awkward, having to stand there while all the boys watched my or Newt walking away.

Ugh, I was going to get into so much trouble.  
Or maybe I wasn't.  
Who knew?

I strolled away with the pride I wore like a necklace, not showing any weakness, not giving them a spot of me to pick on, and make an effect.

The homestead was the first place I went to... I guess to just wait for something to happen. The next day? With me about to go upstairs, I noticed Minho's door was ajar. And through that hole I could see him on the bed, face-first, breathing into his pillow.

I didn't knock before entering, just waltzed in like I did whenever because I couldn't give less of a flying shit.

"Min?"  
"Amy?" His voice was muffled, hardly audible.  
"Yup."  
"Go away."  
"No thanks. I'm gonna stay for a bit, aight shank?"

Minho lifted his head up and shook it vigorously.

"Why?"  
"I need some time!"  
"That's what everyone says when they 'need time'..."  
"Well maybe that's because they need time, shuck-face."  
"Nah, but no one ever 'needs time' because they already have it. And time isn't fun if no one is there with you. So," I shut the door, "what's wrong with you, slint-head?"  
"I can't tell you."

It was quite adorable, how he sat up, crossed his legs on the bed with his hair all messy. Like a child.  
I sat in-front of him, mimicking his exact position, so our feet of our crossed legs were touching.

"And why's that?"  
"You're the last person I want to know."  
"Oh..."  
"Well, maybe not the last."  
"Who's the last?"  
"Newt."

My eyebrows creased and the tips of my mouth turned down.

"You're being sketchy." I laughed nervously, laying my hand on his knee.  
"Please don't touch me, it'll make this worse." I was hurt by this, but obviously didn't show it. My hand was lifted off and placed back by my side.  
"Min, can you just spit it out? I don't kiss and tell. Matter-a-fact, I don't like gossip. I think it's immature and stupid-"  
"Like you're not," He laughed, me joining in milliseconds later.

He looked cute when he laughed.

Minho stopped suddenly, the light draining flooding out of his smile.

"You need to leave."

"Why?"  
"I can't tell you."  
"Why?"  
"I don't want to tell you!"  
"Why?"  
"Slim-it!"  
"Why?"

" **Because I like you!** "

I froze up, moving my body back a few inches.

"...what?"  
"Nothing."  
"No- no. You said-"  
"I didn't!"  
"Min..." I put slimly, slumping my posture.

"I like you," he waited for a response but I couldn't give one, "I don't want to hurt your relationship with Newt or ought. And I think it's a stupid crush. But- what if it's not? What if I love you?"

"You don't."  
"What if I do?

Whenever you smile it lights up my world. All I want to do is make you laugh, see your eyes twinkle. Your hair is always so messy yet so perfect. And the fact that you're so passionate about everything you do makes me excited for you. Of course, I can't show that,"

This made me feel very conscious of myself, and for my past self. Whenever I smiled around him he was watching and judging. Ugh, this complicated things.

"Maybe... I dunno. Maybe it's just because you're our fist girl. There might be some others and I might like them better. But as of right now, I can't think of someone any more perfect than you."

"Perfect?"

"I know you don't feel the same way and you're right not to. You like Newt. Ugh, you like Newt. Of course you do, he's great. But when you kiss him...I wish I were in his shoes.

Oh god. Now you know. Now you can go off and live your life, never talk to me again. Whatever. Find a new running partner-"

"Minho, shut up!"  
"What?"  
"Be quiet! I'm not gonna never talk to you again! I'm not that pathetic! You're my best-friend in the Glade... I guess..."  
"Hittin' me where it shucking hurts."  
"Ha, sorry. But it's true and I don't want to ruin that. Who cares if you like me? As you said, it's probably just a little crush and you'll get over it. Because you are the single most strongest person I know. And if you can survive the maze for two years, you can certainly survive a little emotion. Okay?"

His head gradually bobbed up and down in response.

"You're right," he groaned, "one of the very rare occasions that you're right."  
"I know. And if me and Newt don't work out," I winked, "just kidding. Or am I?" I winked again, "No, I'm really kidding-"  
"Or are you?"  
"Maybe. Maybe not. But really, me and Newt may be over."  
"Why? Because of me? Amy, that's stupid-"  
"No! Cuz Alby found out and he's the one that's all like 'you must protec' the sacred girl! If someone touches her **he will begonetohell!** "  
"Well, you weren't exactly being secretive, snogging out in the open!"  
"Hole-it!"  
"Slim-it!"  
"Shut-it!" I paused, "...Do you think I'll lose my Running klunk?"  
"No." There was no hesitation in his answer.  
"Really?"  
"Really. If Alby even thinks about it, I'll give him something else to think about. Ma' fist!"  
"And then my fist! And my feet!"  
"Then we'll chuck him off the cliff!"

He exhaled.

"This isn't making my feeling shuck any better..."  
"Oh my god! Could you not! I was forgetting!"  
"That's the problem. You are gonna forget when we're talking and laughing like normal, but that's when it really gets me, you know? Seeing you happy. And the fact that I'm making you happy..."  
"Well not any more you ain't."  
"Ah shit, I'm sorry."  
"... When'd you find out you... liked me?"  
"When I saw you kissin' Newt for the first time. I suspected it before but I didn't _know_ it. Then I got really jealous and... punched you..."

"OHhhhh..." I exhaled.

"Took me by surprise when you hit me back. And I didn't want to hurt you, but I was so pissed. Like the things that were going on in my mind: I like this girl a lot but she kissed someone else but it's not like she belongs to me and she doesn't even know I like her but she should know I like her and she should be with me not him and oh god she's cute why am I punching her but why's she punching me stop punching me ow she's strong!"  
"...What?"  
"I dunno. So... what's going to happen... after this?"  
"Well, tomorrow I'll run with you and it'll go back to normal, I'm guessing. Dunno what'll happen with Newt and me."  
"I don't think I can go back to normal..."  
"I do! Just think about all the reasons I'm annoying!"  
"You're sometimes mean and unexpected, you're always hungry, you're super weird and a little crazy, you are way too attracted to the maze and you have a lot... **a lot** of tiring hope."  
"Okay, I didn't mean list them right now. But sure, think about that when you look at me or talk to me."  
"No."  
"For fucks sake, why not?"  
"All those things... that's why I like you. I can't think of any negative thing about you that I don't love."

"Now you love me?!"

"No. I don't think so. Maybe?"  
"No."  
"No."  
"Yeah," my tone dropped, "you don't."

Minho stood up and clicked open the door.  
"I'm going to go... I'll see you tomorrow." He left to exit, but I was quickly able to grab his wrist and hoist him back. I lifted my body up, the tip of my head level with the tip of his nose.

"Minho..."

He looked at me with _those eyes_ and his eyebrows were knitted and his lips were bitten and his chest rose and sank and his smile was non-existent.

"What?"  
"... I- I love you too."

I was as shocked as him, I didn't expect that to come out. It just happened. Even if I wasn't thinking, it did not mean it wasn't true. Because I did love him.

His arms swiftly traveled under my arms and hugged my waist, pulling my chest into his. I wrapped my arms around his back and rested my head on his shoulder as he put his chin on my head.

And we stayed like that... for a long time.

 **Hey!  
Next chapter will be da one! Da one with Thomas and Teresa! Yay! So happeh!  
Anyway,  
I know this chapter was full of emotions, just like The Death Cure Movie which I saw.  
I was sad for ages, and I still am. I haven't talked to anyone, and I told my friends not to text me.  
But Then I realized I still have this. Until this ends, TMR will never finish.  
So, I'm dedicating all my time to this book, and hopefully the next four to come after this, I don't know.  
But the Maze Runner means so much to me, and sure, I have friends who like it and who've read it, but...  
I don't think they really **_**truly**_ **understand how much it means to me.  
Because I don't talk that much about how I found it and why it kinda saved me from being someone I didn't want to be.**

 **I don't wanna go into it now, because people I know read this, but without The Maze Runner, I'd be someone completely different, I wouldn't've found writing and I would be hanging out with the wrong kinda people.**

 **It bums be out so much that it's over and I've never cried that much at such an amazing movie.**  
 **Wes did an incredible job!**

 **And it's his first three movies! He landed on casting, as well! Okay, hope you are having a wonderful weekend, goodbye!**


End file.
